Who was ultimately responsible for the evil Mississippi primary campaign that smeared supporters of Chris McDaniel as racists?
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, that’s who.
The GOP Establishment Incumbent Protection Machine and the big-money donors who fund it have been determined to eradicate the Tea Party movement in the 2014 campaign cycle.
This is McConnell’s formula for Republican success: Destroy all primary challengers, whatever the cost, and ensure that only Establishment-approved candidates win primaries in open-seat races or against vulnerable Democrat incumbents. It’s a cautious, risk-averse strategy, and if Republicans capture the Senate majority in November, McConnell will be congratulated on his success.
On the other hand . . .
What if it all goes sideways? What if this political equivalent of the NFL “prevent defense” turns out to be a formula for GOP failure?
What if all the big money and all the shrewd consultants turn out to be less valuable to Republicans than the grassroots conservative supporters who have been alienated by McConnell’s strategy?
What if Mitch McConnell loses his own Senate seat?
Manu Raju and John Bresnahan of Politico examine that scenario at some length today, and it’s not as far-fetched as it may seem.
Look at the polls: McConnell leads Democrat challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes by 5 points in the Real Clear Politics average, but the race has only been polled four times in the past two months, so we don’t know how solid that lead really is. Most importantly, McConnell is consistently polling below 50% — as low as 42% in a May poll — and that’s always a troubling sign for an incumbent.
As the Politico article says, if McConnell can’t defeat Grimes, the prospects for a GOP Senate majority are pretty remote. And if Republicans can’t take over the Senate this year — when they have every possible advantage, by ordinary calculations — it’s possible to argue that Republicans can never win a Senate majority, that the GOP is doomed to permanent minority status.
This scenario, the de facto triumph of Democrats as uncontested rulers of America as a one-party centralized state, would be a complete reversal of the “permanent Republican majority” Karl Rove promised in the wake of George W. Bush’s re-election.
After all the evil deeds perpetrated by the Republican establishment in the Mississippi primary, some of my conservative friends respond to this possibility with calm: “Let it burn,” they say.
It’s becoming harder to argue that these friends of mine are wrong.
To paraphrase Mencken, GOP voters are getting it, good and hard.
As WFB, Jr. said, We need to nominate the most conservative candidates who can get elected. Tea Party candidates have not been perfect, mistakes have been made in screening some candidates in the past, but for the most part they have been good for good for the cause. In Mississippi the best candidate for the GOP is Thad Cochran? Really?
We can do better than this.
The low turnout in Georgia’s primary runoff Tuesday was further evidence of the demoralizing effect of the Establishment’s strategy.
I have all but decided to vote for the Democrat this time. Not because I support her, but because sending McConnell back to the Senate is worse than sending a democrat.
I’ve been called by the RNC for donations 3 times in the last couple weeks, I stop them mid-pitch by saying. “Because of what you did in Mississippi to steal the election for Thad Cochran, calling me a racist in the process I will never donate money to the party again”.
I bet they’ve been getting a lot of that.
“After all the evil deeds perpetrated by the Republican establishment
in the Mississippi primary, some of my conservative friends respond to
this possibility with calm: “Let it burn,” they say.
It’s becoming harder to argue that these friends of mine are wrong.”
We’re beyond let it burn. We need to set it on fire.
The Stupid Party needs to be taught a lesson: “You bastards need us more than we need you.” If it means torching their shot at re-taking control of the Senate, so be it.
Politico extrapolating from Mitch to the entire republic rat senate is a bit of a stretch. The grassroots hate Mitch – so much so that they are willing to risk loosing the chance at a R senate majority by not wanting Mitch back. I hope he goes. I don’t think it will impact an R senate.
Conservatives should have a backup plan if Mitch falls.
The malignant senescents who “lead” the GOP are different only in slogans from Reid and Pelosi—the sole difference being, in addition to being unable to find the Senate cafeteria without assistance, vid Thad Cochran, they don’t want the weight of being the majority party that has to enact policy anymore.
They want their seats and their perks, and they will stop at nothing to prevent the development of a new generation of GOP leaders who will threaten that.
I mean, dammit, they’ve got me to the point where the thought of voting against Cornyn in November is no longer automatically repugnant to me.
GOP Establishment needs a serious fine tuning of their collective neo-cortex. Do they even remember what the election of 2006 was about? Fiscal conservatives and libertarians REFUSED to continue sending tax and spend Republicans to Congress and the Democrats won both Houses back. It was not that the Democrats’ goals were suddenly crazy popular – they won not because the Fi-Cons voted for their candidate – they didn’t – but that the Fi-Cons withheld their votes from the GOP (other factors to be sure, but this was a big one and it hit in about every state).
GOP only got the House BACK from the Dems due to the TEA Party and other conservatives. So now, with the election of 8 years ago fading into memory, they are back with their ridiculous serving of the “well, who you gonna vote for if not US? The Dems?” s**t sandwich.
The idea of more of the ‘come along get along’ by the GOP establishment is depressing.
I couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately, I live in California where my vote has less value than snake spit.
Much better to keep Harry Reid. huh…
Nothing is worse than sending Harry Reid back to the senate. The GOP wont learn some kind of big lesson from you voting for the democrats, you will just be endorsing their policies.
I have no interest in letting it burn. Grassroots conservatives (like me) are just going to have to turn out, to hold their noses, and vote for the Republican, even the demented Thad and the Machiavellian Mitch and non-entities like Ed Gillespie.
What’s more, you can count on Mitch to destroy Grimes, just as he destroyed his primary opponent.
And Mitch was not wholly to blame. Haley Barbour deserves the lion’s share.
Your opinion is noted, Captain.
Mush bears enough of the blame to be accounted part of the problem, and therefore a liability.
I have NO problem with the “Nuclear Option,” recommended for the Boehner election in November: vote for the Democrat. These b*stards need to go and, with no third party around to support, nothing else will help the GOP “learn.”
p.s. Please spare me the “oh, that will only help the Dems” cr*pola; McConnell, Boehner, McCain, etc. etc. etc. ARE PART OF the Dems, whether they sport the armband or not.
Rome is aflame and my bucket is insufficient to the task.
Hand me the rosin.
DO SO. Please!
This sort of complicity with the Dems (McConnell, Boehner, McCain, etc. etc. etc) – not to mention the corruption of the Mississippi race – was the last straw.
A good GOP candidate, a viable thrid party (Tea, Freedom, Constitution, whatever you call it) candidate, or TAKE THE NUCLEAR OPTION and vote Dem to VOTE OUT THE GOP FILTH.
RUBBISH. Your words echo the Establishment’s weasly, weak and cowardly feeblemindedness. UNTIL there is a viable third party,it’s necessary to reward the good GOP candidates, but also to wipe out the filth. NOTHING will change until then.
Your cowardice is duly noted.
Reid is almost dead anyway. Until there’s a viable third party to support, it’s time to rid the GOP of its corrupt filth, one election at a time.
YOU ARE THE BATTERED WIFE WHO REFUSES TO LEAVE.
YOUR MENTAL DISORDER DISGUSTS ME.
[…] TOM: Ditch Mitch? […]
McConnel is the ONE REPUBLICAN I would vote against. To help the GOP clean house….
Hmmm… I wonder why the two parties would have conspired to chase off such a rabid ideologue and Neo-confederate? Mississippi is the poorest state in the country and receives 49% of its revenue in the form of federal subsidies, and this guy wanted to cut it off because “conservatism”? yeah, that would have been great for the state!
So it’s courageous to keep a genuine traitor to the country who sent American troops out on a limb and then cut it off, who declared the war lost while we had men in the field,, getting our troops killed, who has prevented a budget from being passed since his taken over as majority leader, on and on and on…
Take your 3rd party tin foil had and stick it, I live in the real world, all you are doing is helping elect socialists to wreck the country.
You don’t have a screw loose and don’t want to let the country burn so they want to purge you from their treehouse.
You are talking about burning the country fool. Start with burning your own house down before you move on to mine. See how you like it.
There isn’t a viable 3rd party. Deal with it. Wiping out the GOP leaves Obama, fool.
Someone should have taken your crayon away years ago.
It’s been my belief all along that Republicans need to suffer historic defeat in 2014, so as to build something better by 2016.
A Republican Party that can still win with mere promises of not stinking as bad as the other guy, even after Mississippi, won’t ever change.
Not all Republicans need to lose. You know who the good ones are and so do I, but the PARTY needs to lose.
Do they? When you do nothing but stay at home and whine you tell the bastards that they need to move left to get independents to make up for the wacko bird vote that has shown itself to be completely unreliable.
You are talking about re-electing Harry Reid as senate majority leader… after you re-elected him because you insisted on Sharon Angle.. when are you going to stop being so goddamn stupid?
I’ll always ask, what’s wrong with one of candidates 3 through 10? No reason to vote for treason when a Libertarian or Constitution candidate is usually available.
The problem is, sometimes the “Tea Party” or “TruCon” candidate is completely unelectable, and it’s already cost us the Senate. All sorts of Obama packed Courts are the repercussions.
Whether it’s dingbats like Christine O’Donnell, Ken Buck, or SoCon extremists like Akin or Mourdoch. I think McConnell is sick of handing easy seats over to Democrats, and I don’t blame him.
And the Tea Party plays plenty rough with Establishment candidates,
politics ain’t bean bag, so I will say the whining gets old. The material I get against “Establishment” candidates would make you think they are closet Communists. This idea that the Tea Party gets to be as mean and dirty as it wants and Establishment has to put on the kid gloves is childish.
That being said, I think the tactics against McDaniel were beyond the
pale, and I don’t blame a conservative in Mississippi for voting
accordingly, but I’m not going to hold the entire GOP responsible.
If you can’t win with a Tea Party candidate in a Republican primary with a conservative electorate, I think you have your answer. You obviously have a poor candidate.
I’d vote against Cochran first. McConnell second. 😉
What’s a “Neo-confederate,” little tardlett?
I know our nations colleges of Poli Sci don’t turn out the brightest in the world, but even you tards should be able to figure out that voting for Sharon Angle did not cause Harry Reid to be re-elected.
Do you really think that, if given the reigns of power in the Senate, McConnell and the like won’t just kowtow to Obama? They will just use – “since we don’t have the White House there is nothing we can do but cooperate.” It will be the same old BS. Let ‘er burn!
@ Howdy
FINE.
The options, one after another:
1) Tea/Constitution Party
if not available…
2) decent GOP candidate
if not available…
3) VOTE DEMOCRAT
The filthy corruption of the GOP must GO.
Which faction ADDED more seats to the GOP in 2012? Tea Party or Rove/DCGOP. Which faction spent exactly 1% of its spending on WINNING candidates? Tea Party or Rove?
Waa! Waaahh!! WAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!
“We can’t win unless we stick together, no matter how corrupt, disgusting and JUST LIKE THE DEMOCRATS “our” beloved Republicans are!”
THIS is what your cowardice sounds like to others.
You are no fool, you are WORSE.
Fark off, Howdy. I live in the only NYC Congressional district with a GOP rep, and I’ve had to hold my nose while voting for assholes most years. I didn’t have anything to do with Nevada, and it’s ponces like you who give the Stupid Party’s leadership the balls to turn their backs on the base.
Stick it yourself, Howdy.
You still imagine that there is some substantial difference between a McConnell and a Reid.
You have learned NOTHING from Bush, Dole, Bush, McCain and Romney.
None Of The Above.
Give people something other than Politico #1 or Politico #2 and watch how fast the incumbents fall.
A friend or acquaintance of that guy Neo from the Matrix movies?
I’d say a good idea would be for Constitutionalists and Libertarians to pledge to cross-vote. That is, a Libertarian should vote Constitutionalist if there is no Libertarian, and vice versa.
And if there is neither, then vote for someone else, or write in RSM.
Howdy, your guys are doing their best to set my house on fire. You should be talking to them, getting them to apologize.
The most likely explanation for why you aren’t is you want my house to burn.
Why Howdy, do you need it to place in one of your orifices?
Translation: vote for Cochran; he’ll steal other people’s money to bribe you!
This is the DemProg agenda, laid out in full.
What a surprise, Howdy is a new account. Here is our new Moby. Jeff Goldberg had a bunch of them last night.