Note: He's Up By 25 Points

Rand Paul, the GOP primary winner put his foot in mouth yesterday (link) and its unclear to me if it will matter at all.  However, if it does, then Ezra Klein knows why (link):

What's gotten Paul in trouble, however, is that he's so skeptical of government power that he's not even comfortable with the public sector telling private businesses that they can't discriminate based on race. That, I fear, does have public policy implications.

For instance: Can the federal government set the private sector's minimum wage? Can it tell private businesses not to hire illegal immigrants? Can it tell oil companies what safety systems to build into an offshore drilling platform? Can it tell toy companies to test for lead? Can it tell liquor stores not to sell to minors? These are the sort of questions that Paul needs to be asked now, because the issue is not "area politician believes kooky but harmless thing." It's "area politician espouses extremist philosophy on issue he will be voting on constantly."

Interestingly, Rasmussen has him up over Conway (D) in the polls by 25 (link).

As a side note, Rasmussen is a very reputable polling company that has a strong 'house effect'.  Their polls have leaned more towards the GOP during this cycle than all the other pollsters.  This doesn't mean that their polls are wrong, but has more to do with how they are modeling for likely voters.  For more on this, here is Nate Silver (link).  And for those who like a good conspiracy, here is Daily Kos on the Rasmussen house effect (link).

It's The _____s Fault

Personally, I blame myself.  I woke up one morning and took a good look in the mirror.  Anyway, if you want to blame somebody else, have fun with this chart.

Hat Tip: The Big Picture