Christine O'Donnell, Class A Conspiracy Theorist

OK, so maybe she’s not a witch. But Christine O’Donnell is revealing herself as a class A conspiracy theorist, aggravating the condition with the remarkably self-centered view that she is the victim of a White House scheme to destroy her.

O’Donnell, the ridiculed and failed GOP Senate candidate from Delaware, is reportedly under investigation for misuse of campaign funds. This is hardly a huge surprise; there were allegations during her run for the Senate that she had used campaign funds to pay her rent. Maybe she’s innocent of the charges, as she contends. But she’s hardly buttressing her case by focusing not on the substance of the allegations, but on the motives of people as high up as the vice president’s office she is convinced are out to get her.

[See editorial cartoons about the Tea Party.]

Two former staffers have made allegations of campaign fund misuse--but O’Donnell’s response has been to attack the staffers for being “fired,” one of them, after a week and a half. It’s possible the employees are “disgruntled,” as O’Donnell says. It’s also possible that she didn’t want them around after they discovered campaign irregularities.

But O’Donnell saves her biggest accusation for the Delaware Democrats and Vice President Joe Biden, whom she believes are trying to undo her by having her investigated for allegedly violating Federal Election Commission rules. She said:

Given that the king of the Delaware political establishment just so happens to be the Vice President of the most liberal presidential administration in US history, it’s no surprise that misuse and abuse of the FBI would not be off the table.

Elaborating for ABC’s Good Morning America, O’Donnell, smiling ridiculously, added:

You don't need a tipster to show that this was politically motivated. We were informed that the Delaware political establishment was going to use every resource available to them, including launching phony investigations ... tying me up with lawsuits to make sure I can't move forward politically. I even expect more things to come, that's their tactic.

Sure, Christine--Biden is in the middle of dealing with two wars and stubbornly high unemployment, but his real concern is to thwart future runs by O’Donnell in his home state. If O’Donnell had any political acumen at all, she would realize that the Democrats would like nothing better than to have O’Donnell embarrass the GOP--and taint thinking, legitimate Republican candidates in other races--by making another run for the Delaware seat.

[See 2010: The Year in Cartoons.]

“They call us wacky. They call us wingnuts. We call us ‘we the people,’” O’Donnell said in a speech to conservative supporters in September. She’s partly right. And being a witch now seems like a more credible alternative.

• See editorial cartoons about the Tea Party
  
• See cartoons about the 2010 elections.
• See which industries give the most in campaign contribution to Congress.

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