The Bridges Of Madison Cawthorn

 The choice is often between the devil you know and the devil you don't. The unfortunate dilemma set by this distinction is they are both devils. 

There was celebration in many quarters on Tuesday evening when it was announced that Madison Cawthorn, the youngest member of Congress, had lost his primary. Young Madison would no longer be spouting forth from the floor of the House of Representatives about tallywhackers and orgies. He will, in all likelihood, find his way to some alt-right podcast or streaming service to offer his particular slant on the news of the day.

News that no longer includes him as a member of the House of Representatives. 

Taking Madison's place on the Republican side of the ballot this November is North Carolina state senator Chuck Edwards. Mister Edwards' announced his priorities after Young Madison called to concede the primary: “(R)emoving the gavel out of Nancy Pelosi’s hand, and then taking the teleprompter from Joe Biden and restoring the policies that we enjoyed under the Trump administration, to help get this country back on track.” Which, compared to the conspiracy and confusion-laced rants of Young Madison come as a welcome relief to a section of the Tar Heel state that has a solidly red base. As "no-brainers" go, this one couldn't have been an easier call.

And yet, Young Madison still managed to poll thirty-two percent of the registered Republicans in his district. This suggests that the shenanigans of Young Madison were tolerated if not excused by a solid one third of his party. Which sets the bar extremely low for Chuck Edwards. Senator Thom Tillis endorsed Edwards by dismissing what he called a "consistent pattern of juvenile behavior, outlandish statements, and untruthfulness” from Young Madison. Instead, voters of the red persuasion preferred "not a celebrity" Chuck Edwards. Interestingly the endorsement by the biggest "celebrity" in politics, honorary Kardashian Donald "Jenner" Trump, could not save Young Madison. 

The dull, "mountain values" of Chuck Edwards play a lot easier in the big game of chess called national politics than the katzenjammer antics of Young Madison. Dull plays in the heartland after all. Even a dull devil.