A couple days ago, I noted that Beth Anne Rankin was telling fans of her Facebook page that, despite their wanting to know when and where they could meet her on her trip to Mena, she “[couldn’t] post every detail.” Because, you know, heaven forbid that you might have to mingle with the folks of AR-04, right?
Anyway, discussing her odd approach, I wrote:
I honestly can only come up with the following four reasons: 1) it’s a private event at a private home, and you aren’t telling the unwashed masses about it; 2) you are really hoping to avoid anything resembling substantive questions about your positions, so you aren’t telling the smarter-than-you public the event details; 3) you are just absolutely clueless, and you hope that people will vote for you because of the “R” by your name, so you are avoiding letting people get to know you enough that they might reconsider; 4) you don’t understand how town hall meetings actually work.
It turns out that I was WAY off, at least insofar as the event was not private and was not a town hall meeting. I was less incorrect, however, in my opinion that Rankin’s approach was at best bizarre. To wit:
That’s right; Rankin’s time in Mena was spent at the county fair, yet she would not deign to inform voters in the Mena area that she would be there. I… I really can’t fathom this strategy. Rankin is trailing in every real poll, is trailing in cash-on-hand, and is going against a candidate who has made his town-hall accessibility the centerpiece of reaching his constituents. Why in the world would she be secretive about her location and avoid talking to people who have expressed an interest in meeting her?
Don’t get me wrong: I find the concept of “Congresswoman Rankin” to be absolutely horrifying. So I don’t particularly care that she is avoiding contact with potential voters. But, given the endorsement of Rankin by the Huckster and the general anti-incumbent, anti-Dem vibe across the state and the nation, the fact that Rankin is apparently going to get trounced on November 2 should be a sign to her supporters of just how abysmal her campaign has been. This is likely to be small comfort to those of us who are rooting for the blue team, but we’ll take our wins where we can get them this year.