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.
As much as I loathe the RINO leadership and the gutless careerism exhibited by the stumbling dinosaurs of the pro-amnesty, crony capitalism phonies in the GOP, I just have to advise against the “Let it Burn” strategy. This election is too important. (Yeah, I know, they all are.) I’d rather take my pleasure in Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, than ex-Senator Mitch McConnell. Obama can bring a lot of ruination on the country in two years with the Congress as currently configured. I just can’t take the chance.
Chairman Mao would be so proud of you.
You are an embarrassment to the Navy.
Go polish your jackboots and leave restoration to real Americans.
Please, enough with the twisted analogies.
You sound like a Moby out to keep the dems in power.
Your cowardly, unimaginative trolling has gotten boring. You are simply a poser, and a flamer.
Yes, you are definitely sick. You got one thing right today.
Psychological projection, Kos is that where you go to laugh at the rubes that you helped to stand down in the face of a genuine threat to the country?
Where are your 15 O’Donnell’s? Where’s your ONE? You do realize you have to win elections to get political representation in this republic, right? Is something that obvious news to you?
Thanks for pussying out of answering the question as well, shocked.
Pretend conservatives like “howdy” are really easy to spot. This guy’s concern trolling schtick isn’t even clever. He’s probably hoping to get someone to threaten him online so he can be a real dick about it.
Why else would he be working so hard to sound like such a determined jerk? (Real jerks get bored and leave.)
Take your concern troll routine elsewhere.
Boring. No one believes your act anymore. Go back to the usual America-hating screed you’re used to typing.
It wasn’t my question, troll boy.
You aren’t fooling anyone. Push off.
Why don’t you just get your crybaby ass out? It’s a serious question. You can insult me on the web because you are anonymous, but in real life, if you believe the things you plaster all over this site to keep people demoralized and at home on election day, why don’t you pack your belongings and leave?
Why don’t you man up and find some other country that you don’t want to burn down? It’s a serious question.
Since you are too much of a pussy to stand up to the Pajama-boys and fight the Reids you probably wont give a straight answer, but if that’s the case you might not want to be calling others cowardly, because it’s just a joke out of you.
No one is buying your tough guy act, either.
So Moby, if the country is finished and we should just let it burn, why don’t you leave? Lazy? Afraid? Answer that.
I love the USA, that’s why I don;t want to see it burn, that’s why I want Reid removed as majority leader. You are the one who hates it, that’s why you want to let it burn.
So why don’t you leave?
No one cares about your stupid questions, either. You aren’t the least bit believable.
Flame away, little troll. It’s all you have.
“No one?” Is everyone’s opinion important to you? If so you might want to show that you aren’t afraid to answer a simple question, lest you look like a coward. So which is it, a coward or a fool?
If you think it is best to just let this country burn why don’t you get your traitorous ass out?
Are you EdofNYC?
Can’t help but notice that wasn’t an answer to the question. What I have is you showing that your position is completely bankrupt, intellectually, morally, practically. You are just rationalizing being a little b!#ch. If not you could tell me why you haven’t gotten out of a country that you think should just be burned.
Again, “no one” as if you spoke for everyone. So this is a security thing, you are on the bandwagon, the let it burn bandwagon,. Nice.
If you aren’t a Moby, Do you realize that your insecurity is being used to jerk you around into empowering people who actually want the worst for you? Does your sense of belonging in an online echo chamber make it worth the realization that you are deliberately working to injure the country? Answer that please.
No. I got the link off of ace of spades, I’m soon to be a memory.
Seriously, the echo chamber here is pretty sad.
I’ve asked you the same thing, it’s obvious that you wont answer because your happier in your little clique then you are actually examining what you advocate. A follower.
Prove me wrong, if you are advocating that we should just let the USA burn why don’t you have the courage of your convictions and get your ass out of the country? We have enough parasites here already.
Slight disagreement: Reid is persuadable, his constituents are not. Reid does what he does because he knows his base will never call him on it.
It’s theoretical, but I would guess if his base became really angry at something he did, Reid would change course cravenly, and instantly.
Of course, Reid’s base will never become reasonable.
We’ve tried your way for decades now. Where has it gotten us?
To Obama and feckless “leaders” like McConnell and Boehner, that’s where.
So don’t try shaming anyone who’s ditching on McConnell, and we promise not to rub your nose in your failed “strategy,” OK?
Nah. We’ll just start with McConnell (and Boehner, if we can).
The establishment is composed of cowards. They’ll fold LONG before we get rid of most of them.
We’re not going to burn the country. Just the heretics.
If its so desperately important, then you need to tell the Establishment to go along with us. Because ‘this lad’s not for turning’ as the Iron Lady almost said.
I honestly don’t know. I think the RINOS are principled. Its just their principles are socialism and elite power. Its aristos looking out for their own children.
You have an attitude that is unsupported by any evidence. The GOPe is nothing but a bunch of limp dish rags.
Based on past performance, I seriously doubt the Turtle is persuadable.
Socialism I don’t know about. Power, however, is something they covet and lust for.
Nothing of the sort has been shown. OTOH, history sows you have not the slightest, foggiest idea of what you are talking about.
We aren’t going to burn the country. people like you, who will do nothing to hold anyone’s feet to the fire have allowed it to be set on fire and simply want to reward the arsonists.
You are simply an idiot and a troll.
K-Bob is far from a Moby. You’re clueless on what a Moby is if you seriously think he is. He’s also been here far longer than you and know what he is. You, OTOH, are simply unserious pipsqueak who thinks you can keep doing the same thing over and over and get a different result.
Yes it has, and we see the result in DC even as I type this. Just because you are a clown doesn’t mean anyone else is.
You are simply showing that you can make a pretense at philosophy. All you are producing is a bunch of mental meandering with little substance.
This Navy vet abjectly apologizes to everyone here that the Navy would produce such an idiot as howdy.
The GOP is already ruined. It saddens me that you haven’t noticed.
Many of us on agree with your self assessment. I would use a far stronger term, but this is a family friendly blog.
You make the mistake of assuming we want it to. The GOPe, however, has short circuited our efforts time and again. They want our votes, but they won’t end what we keep voting against.
It takes a true idiot to not realize that.
NO he won’t. WE know what he is, and he has no reason to stab us in the back. He’s pretty brazen about it.
The GOPe, however, does stab us in the back. And after they do it they look at us innocently as though we’re too stupid to realize what they just did. People like you are willing to give them the benefit of something they have no right to expect. You are simply too stupid to accept what they are doing and act accordingly.
People like you are why the country will burn.
So what? We’ve pointed out the insanity of open primaries. Guess who doesn’t want to do anything about them – the GOPe.
You pose no serious questions. You’re simply a troll.
Unserious. The traitors are morons like you who think you can do what your betters have tried for years to do. We’ll stand back and watch you do what we’ve already tried, and what got us Turtle’s statement that he will crush us.
Go ahead. Bang your head against that brick wall. It won’t feel good when you stop and we’ll laugh at you for being such an idiot.
Your “question” won’t be answered here because it’s already been answered else where. K-Bob is correct about 1973.
You are correct about the parasites. Go look in the mirror if you’d like an introduction to one.
You show little political awareness if you think that’s what cost Angle the election.
How can you pretend he did it all by himself?
You set the bar in the basement.
The sooner you depart for your prolonged meth dream, the better for sane people.