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Soon to be ex-Congressman John Sullivan must have poor vision and a bad back

1:10 PM EDT on June 27, 2012

On Monday, I noticed a surge in Google ads all over the Internet for US Congressman John Sullivan. I thought the timing and sudden appearance of the ads was kind of odd, considering Sullivan was a 5-term incumbent seeking reelection in a safe Republican district.

Well, I guess there was a reason for all those advertisements. John Sullivan was upset in the Republican primary yesterday by political newcomer and teabagger Jim Bridenstine (pictured above). Apparently, Sullivan lost the election because he alienated all the optometrists and chiropractors in his district.

Wait...What? Via Fox News:

Rep. John Sullivan, R-Okla., became the ninth Congressional incumbent to lose a primary Tuesday night.

Sullivan faced tea party favorite Jim Bridenstine in the congressional district that includes Tulsa.

A former Navy pilot, Bridenstine claimed the five-term lawmaker was out of touch, voted to raise the debt ceiling and was in favor of “government takeovers.”

Sullivan’s loss sparked chatter during a sequence of late-night votes on the House floor Tuesday. One lawmaker said he was “shocked.” Several spoke of how Sullivan may have alienated optometrists and chiropractors in his district who in turn, banded against him.

Couple of quick questions for the Ogle Moles:

1. Was anyone aware that the optometrists and chiropractors in Tulsa had this type of pull? It's not like they are real doctors or anything. I've never heard anyone say "Hey, you better watch out or your really going to piss off those chiropractors over there" or "Oh crap! The optometrists are coming. Run and warn the others!"

2. How the hell do you even alienate a group of optometrists and chiropractors? Do you blink each time they try to blow air into your eyes? Do you complain about their rough, cold and insensitive hands? Or, maybe you just make an innocent joke about them not being real doctors and accidentally unleash a hellstorm of fury and alienation. I hope that's not the case.

Anyway, this was probably a stupid decision by Tulsa Republicans. I know they like the Utopian fairy tale mantra of the tea party, but all they've done is basically vote out a divisive, partisan, Republican crony and replace him with a divisive, partisan, Republican crony. The only difference is the crony they voted against is an experienced Washington insider who could get things done for the their district, while the crony they voted for has no political experience and looks like he should be serving ice cream at Baskin Robbins. Good luck with all that.

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