Pistol Pete Hoekstra is back in the news, which just goes to show you that you can’t keep a mediocre man down.
Hoekstra had an undistinguished 16 years in Congress before Rick Michigan crushed him in the 2010 Republican gubernatorial campaign, one in which Hoekstra was supposedly the frontrunner. Now he’s being touted as the GOP’s best possible challenger to U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, who is up for re-election in 2012.
What does Hoekstra bring to the race for Republicans besides the stink of defeat and a knee-jerk right-wing ideology?
How about a twisted Tea Party logic that opposes funding for a new advanced battery plant in his Holland area district, but supports federal tax breaks for Big Oil? Hoekstra’s shameless mugging for the cameras at the Holland plant groundbreaking was famously memorialized in this video and pummeled on CNN.
Debbie Stabenow is constantly underestimated as a campaigner, despite beating two tough incumbent Republicans–Dick Chrysler (U.S House) and Spencer Abraham (U.S. Senate). If Republicans want to make it a trifeckta, Pistol Pete is just the guy they may want in 2012.