Top 10 mistakes of Election 2010

We all make mistakes. But in the world of politics, it’s an art form. Here’s our list of favorites from Election 2010, in no particular order, and focused on mistakes that could affect the outcome of a race.

Rand Paul’s decision to appear on the Rachel Maddow show

Hunter Wilson/The Daily News/AP
Rand Paul and his wife, Kelley, speak to supporters in Bowling Green, Ky., Oct. 30.

The tea party-backed Kentucky Republican won the Republican primary in an upset back in May, then nearly blew the general election the very next day by appearing on the liberal MSNBC talk-mistress’s show.

Ms. Maddow backed Rand Paul into a verbal corner over his views of the Civil Rights Act (CRA) and Americans with Disabilities Act, appearing to suggest he did not support them. On the CRA, the libertarian Mr. Paul said that while he opposes discrimination, he didn’t agree that it should be against the law for businesses to discriminate against customers based on race, and that he would have tried to change the legislation had he been in office at the time.

The next day, on conservative talker Laura Ingraham’s radio show, Paul said it was “a poor political decision” to appear on Maddow’s show. Later he put out a statement saying he would not support any effort to repeal the CRA.

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