The Other McCain

Lisa Graas, a Kentuckian who supports Bill Johnson in the GOP Senate primary, informs me that FreedomWorks is supporting Rand Paul. She also compiles a list of Kentucky conservative bloggers who are backing Johnson and says:

As a tea partier, a Reagan conservative and a Christian here in Kentucky, I’d like the folks at Freedom Works to know that I will be voting Democrat if Rand Paul wins the GOP primary here.

Lisa had told me about her feelings a few weeks ago and it troubled me. When I was in Kentucky to cover the Sparkman investigation, I talked to some staunch conservatives who are Paul supporters. My sympathy for them may prejudice my perspective on this fight, but I know there are good people on both sides, and I hate to see this kind of blood feud among conservatives.

We’re going to see lots of contested primaries this year. As one GOP operative told me, “If you’ve ever considered running for office as a Republican, this is the year to do it.” I’m not in a position to tell Kentuckians how to conduct their feuds, but if my advice were asked, I’d advise this:

• In criticizing a rival primary candidate, avoid making public doomsaying declarations like, “If so-and-so wins the primary, he’ll lose in November” or “If so-and-so wins the primary, I’ll vote Democrat.” (Anyone who wants to call me a hypocrite here, given how savagely I went after Crazy Cousin John . . . Well, OK, but that turkey was doomed from Day One, no matter what I said. “Don’t Blame Me, I Voted for Bob Barr.” )
• Rand Paul needs to recognize he’s got a serious problem with a huge chunk of the GOP base in Kentucky, and his campaign needs to do whatever is necessary to fix that problem. If you’re a Republican and you’ve got pro-life Catholics like Lisa Graas swearing vows against you, you’ve got big trouble. Even if you can win the GOP primary, you’ll be badly wounded when the general election campaign begins.
• Likewise, Bill Johnson’s campaign needs to recognize that they’re not doing themselves any favors by deliberately ostracizing libertarian-minded Republicans. It’s one thing to disagree with Rand Paul on specific issues. It’s another thing to make Paul’s supporters feel as if they are unwelcome inside the Big Tent, even if you think Paul’s supporters are dangerous kooks. Hey, kooks can vote, y’know. 

Bad tactics are the small change that add up to bad strategy, and I think these primary fights escalate into blood feuds mainly because of the vicious negativity of some campaign operatives who are mentally accustomed to a win-at-any-cost rationale.

Personal friends of mine have been hurt by these tactics, and I know the damage done. Dishonorable politics attract dishonorable people, and vice is habit-forming. The path that led Jack Abramoff to federal prison began with a few “minor” ethical compromises.

I’ll close with some advice that is perhaps not strictly neutral, but which is of general application: If you can’t win a GOP primary without accusing your opponent of treason or sodomy, maybe you deserve to lose. And if your campaign staff can’t do better than that, maybe you need to get a new campaign staff.

UPDATE: Some heavy-duty stuff going on in the comments, where Dr. David Duncan links his own post relating his experiences dealing with Rand Paul’s supporters. I kind of knew I was kicking a hornet’s nest here. Like I said, I know good people who support Paul, and if Paul has supporters who are harming his cause by their tactics, that’s something he needs to deal with.