Scott Brown just ran into the Law of Clayton Williams

[Are_grits_groceries]

When Williams ran against Ann Richards, he refused to shake hands with her before a debate. This hurt him because it either changed or reinforced what people thought about him. It made him look petty, rude, and like he wasn't raised right. That last is a mortal sin.

Scott Brown's attitude towards Elizabeth Warren is going to bite him. His supporters probably loved it. However, his nasty and disrespectful tone probably won't sit well with a lot of people. He was elected in large part because of his nice guy persona.

You can be forceful and you can ridicule the policies of others. However, when you ridicule them, it makes you look small.

This was a lesson I learned when I taught. Sarcasm and the like can hinder your effectiveness if aimed at the students. It demeans them in front of others and can alienate them from you forever. It also affects how the others view you. It is one sure way to lose support and respect.

[NoPasaran]

1. It was easy for Clayton Williams to look petty and rude

Because he WAS petty and rude. One mean ol' sumbitch.

Shaking hands with an opponent is just part of having a debate. Only a dickhead refuses.

[Thinkingabout]

2. Clayton also had a Todd Akin moment

Rape compared to weather, just lay back and enjoy it, the repubs really need to get over themselves, listening to hate radio gets them into trouble. He has to know he is from a very blue state and they like the blue platform. Warren is a fighter of little people and is very good at doing so.

[karynnj]

3. He sounded like the commenters on the Boston Herald

who seem to think that the native American thing is a real gotcha. It is not really suspect as her dad's family clearly thought her her mother had native American heritage - and thought that a negative. This precludes it being something "made up by Warren". Very few non elite people know their ancestry back more than about 4 generations, although with the internet that has improved a little.

My husband, when he researched his paternal side of the family found that his last name was not the last name of his paternal great great grandparents. The likely reason - his ancestor who came here likely came on someone else's passport, possibly to evade the draft in Russia. Luckily he is not a politician - so he will not be accused of lying about his name.

As to Brown's claim that she "took" an afirmative action spot - that's been denied by all who made the decisions. Not to mention, it is very hard to believe, given her obvious intelligence that she could not have easily gotten into the schools she went to. I wonder how Brown got through Tufts and Boston Law AND he still can not speak grammatically much of the time.

[Voice for Peace]

4. Elizabeth has dignity, she's much nicer to look at than he is because she's got a clear conscience.

She completely outshone him, he lost his appeal as soon as he opened his mouth.

[kentuck]

5. Good point.

I think last night's debate helped Elizabeth Warren.

[Yavin4]

6. And It's More Pronounced When A Male Opponent Disrespects His Female Opponent

Brown was walking in Rick Lazio territory last night. In the 2004 NY Senate debate between Lazio and Hillary Clinton, Rick shoved a piece of paper in front of Hillary and demanded that she sign it. It was a very rude and disrespectful gesture that quickly killed his campaign.

In the 2008 VP debate between Biden and Palin, Joe's biggest task was to be courteous and respectful to Palin even if she was not to him, and he succeeded brilliantly.