Politics: The victory of the little-known Deb Fischer in Nebraska's Republican Senate primary is a reminder that the Tea Party is alive, well and volatile. And so is the phenomenon named Sarah Palin.
Deb who? That was the reaction Tuesday after the state senator and her modestly funded campaign scored a huge upset against the GOP establishment candidate for the U.S. Senate nomination, Attorney General Jon Bruning, and state Treasurer Don Stenberg, on whom the "smart" conservative money was bet.
Born and raised in Nebraska, Fischer, 61, and her husband of nearly 40 years run a ranch where they've reared three sons. The North Platte Telegraph said that as a state lawmaker she was "instrumental in providing Nebraska's largest tax relief and economic legislation." Fischer convinced voters she'd be best at supporting "conservative principles and protecting our Nebraska way of life."
Bruning and Stenberg each spent well in excess of $1 million. Fischer spent $100,000, augmented by twice that much in SuperPAC spending from Chicago Cubs part-owner Joe Ricketts.
Then there was Mama Grizzly.
Sarah Palin issued a late endorsement and proved the nation's first hockey mom has far from lost her touch, in spite of not running for president this year.
Palin revelled in the win, declaring Fischer "is not part of the good old boys' permanent political class."
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Like clockwork, liberals harrumphed that Fischer's win should not, as Washington Post blogger and "Unbuckling the Bible Belt" author Suzi Parker put it, "erase the discussion of the ongoing war on women" by the Republican Party.
But Fischer leads her Democratic rival, former Sen. Bob Kerrey, by 10 points. Electing this authentic Tea Party conservative as the first woman senator from Nebraska in nearly 60 years would indeed make accusations of a GOP war on woman look absurd. end of article
Additional information.
The most high-profile tea party groups lined up behind her opponents, with Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and his Senate Conservatives Fund (along with the Club for Growth) lining up behind state Treasurer Don Stenberg, and the Tea Party Express, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum backing state Attorney General Jon Bruning.
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