The big loser in this race was Tom Brinkman. Brinkman came out looking good after the primary. However, in the general he really overplayed his hand.

Brinkman started off doing a good job of positioning himself as a challenger in 2006 with his moves behind the scenes. Schmidt campaign manager Joe Braun may have noticed that often when we met I would ask him about Brinkman. This was because I was hearing whispers of Brinkman’s efforts and was looking for clues. Readers will have to forgive your humble editor for not revealing this sooner, but I was afraid that he might have gotten shut down if it got out into the open.

For a while it seemed like pure brilliance. Cut Schmidt’s anti-abortion base off at the knees and then follow through with subtle attacks from anti-tax factions. If Schmidt wins she’s crippled, and if she loses in marches Tax Killer Tom to the rescue. Too bad for him, subtlety isn’t in Tom Brinkman’s arsenal.

The COAST radio ad was over the top. Now Brinkman is publically tied with a move to undercut a fellow Republican in the general election. I cannot image a greater sin from a member of Karl Rove’s Party. You only get one shot with a move like that, and if you miss the hunter instantly becomes the hunted. Brinkman missed.

Telling people not to vote for Schmidt is one thing, telling people not to vote at all is another, and getting it funded by a liberal PAC make’s it just about as bad as it can get for a “conservative”.

I now doubt that Brinkman will be a serious factor in next year’s primary. His only saving grace is the fact that both the State Party and the National Party will be too busy playing defense for the next few years to herd wayward sheep.

As a final note, people may enjoy how the WhistleBlower demonstates his tentative grasp with reality in the blustery post “A Warning from COAST” at the bottom of tomorrow’s edition.

UPDATE: BizzyBlog also dives into the whole COAST thing.