Posted on 02/16/2013 5:34:24 AM PST by cotton1706
Americans love to watch public figures eviscerated publicly. Progressives love to bash conservatives. And the media will go out of their way to cripple conservative candidates (even if it means missing wildly and making an ass out of themselves, i.e., Wolf Blitzer and Marco Rubio’s water bottle). But progressives, the media and the American public will eventually cease their assault, if for no other reason than the story gets old and the appetite for schadenfreude eventually wanes.
For over two years now, center-right political professionals — from Charles Krauthammer and Karl Rove down to local GOP pols — have trashed Christine O’Donnell without relent. They’ve made her name synonymous with embarrassing failure. The declamations are tossed off casually by TV’s alleged conservatives, usually as a cautionary tale. Among the right’s talking heads, Christine O’Donnell is invoked as a two-word epithet utilized to dismiss unfit and extreme Republican candidates, most often Tea Party upstarts. I object. Partly to correct the historical record, partly to defend Christine, partly to stymie a lingering and erroneous bit of conventional wisdom on the right, but mostly to tell Karl Rove that he can go sit on a volcano, I offer a sadly rare defense of Christine O’Donnell.
First of all, if you like Rand Paul and Marco Rubio and the scores of other conservatives who won competitive races in the 2010 tea party wave, you should thank your lucky stars for Christine O’Donnell. Whatever you think of the candidate herself, she took an unseemly barrage of media arrows that would have otherwise landed on other candidates.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
The days of blind support just because you have an "r" next to your name are over!
I suppose that the “losing is good” argument makes sense if it’s the only argument that you’ve got. I prefer a “winning is better” argument myself. The only reason to be involved in politics is to gain political power. Political power enables you to advance your agenda, to take conservative principles and conservative ideas and translate them into law and policy. Without political power, you are just a voice in the wilderness.
Power comes through winning. It doesn’t come from rationalizing a losing effort. It may indeed be a great thing that Castle was tossed out, but having Coons in the Senate and voting with Harry Reid is no victory. Conservatives seem to think that putting forward great conservative candidates is the objective, and if they lose, the cause of Conservatism was nobly served. I think that this is nonsense. A great conservative candidate who can’t win is not much use. O’Donnell got half way there, but came in second in the final race. Conservatives need to find candidates who can win the final race, no just the feel good contest.
Having seen the campaign and the candidate up close and personal during that amazing few moths in 2010, I heartily agree with this author.
Tokyo Rove met with conservatives in DE early in 2010 to get them on board behind Castle, who was a big proponent of cap and trade.
Rove was told to get lost and the war was on.
O’Donnell ran against Castle and it was a slugfest. But Christine won on Sept. 15th.
She only had seven weeks to the general. The GOP in DE came out AGAINST her, they were so ticked that Castle lost. O’Donnell put a monkey wrench in their plans.
They worked against her, Rove worked against her, the media chewed her up. She won her debate with Chris Coons,but you would have never known that from the DE media.
Tokyo Rove trashed her.Bill Maher trashed her to do the bidding of the libs, even though she had been on his show about 20 times.
In spite of all that she only lost by 25,000 votes in a deep blue state. And that margin of loss was less than the number of missing GOP votes in New Castle County.
Chris Coons was the executive of NewCasle County. AFTER the election, about a week later, the media lets loose that Coons overspent by a million dollars and more taxes were needed. That would have sunk him.
He went on that fall to vote for the repeal of don’t ask, don;t tell, which was never an issue he campaigned on.
Mike Castle showed what an ass he really was—he was another Sore Loserman.
After this debacle, the folks in the DE GOP turned out the entire leadership of the GOP here and replaced them. Longtime, patrician, wealthy party bigwigs were shown the door by the people.
Christine O’Donnell is not stupid. She is very conservative. I attended campaign events where she talked with all strata of people, and was wonderful to each person, even those who mocked her. She never would have done the damage that Chris Coons did.
She had no money when she started, no family name, just the drive to do the right thing and to serve her country and state.
She was preyed upon by so many, including Fred Davis, that media hack that released the “I am not a witch” spot, which Christine hated and told him EXPLICITLY not to release.
I have never witnessed the assassination of character in such a short time, from all sides, including those that should have lined up to support her.
She took the arrow meant for a lot of conservatives that season.
Talk about a war on women!
Bump!
Get rid of perpetual loser Karl Rove.
Replace him with 10 more like Christine O’Donnell. Or vote for the Tea Party.
Or both. Now.
——Power comes through winning. -——
WHOA...What a concept...
Too bad that is lost on so many eGOP troglodytes. ..
Same thing here in Indiana.
We got rid of Lugar (a 70% Republican) and replaced him with Donnelly (a 97% Baraqqi) for the next 6 years. Doesn’t that feel great?
Somebody has to vet these Tea Party candidates and teach them that the progressive media is out to blow them up. It’s not rocket science, listening to Limbaugh a few hours a week will give you the tools to handle it.
He was also responsible for the democrat win, as he not only would not support the man who beat him in the primary, he endorsed the democrat.
For that kind of traitorous, small souled conduct, the man deserved to lose and should be an outcast.
Thanks for posting this. I read it elsewhere and it was very good.
I wish I had been advising that campaign, when the whole “witch” thing happened I would have told her start playing the Bewitched thing and just run with it.
O’Donnell was close enough to Elizabeth Montgomery (whom everyone LOVED as Samantha); I think it would have worked.
It couldn’t have been worse than what they tried.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, folks, we’ve got to just keep swining away.
Did Lugar ever come out and endorse Mourdock? I guess he halfheartedly did so after dragging his feet. Did the moderates do all they could to get the Republican candidate elected? No.
Republicans need to face the facts. Moderates are generally not willing to back conservative candidates, and conservatives are finally fighting back. Moderate candidates can no longer count on our votes and take us for granted like they have for decades.
I have absolutely nothing in common with the Marxist left, aka Democrat Party, but I also have virtually nothing in common with moderate Republicans. I can’t accept their compromises when it means giving Democrats most of what they want.
We have to win elections. You’re right. But we have to win with people who will actually represent us. Lugar and Castle were Democrats in all but party affiliation. When the country is on the brink of failure, we can’t afford to go along to get along anymore.
Maybe we’ll lose more elections by contesting the moderate RINOs who are so eager to sell us out. So what? We been losing pretty well with them, haven’t we? If we don’t have the political power to push more conservatives across the finish line, we’re pretty much doomed anyway.
I sent money to COD, and I mostly agree with the sentiments expressed here.
But there’s a problem.
The Democrats have perfected their method of electing socialist radicals to the Senate who say enough to “appear” conservative like the folks back home.
When a true conservative wins a Senate nomination in a purple or blue state, we don’t let them hide enough to win.
We have to get better at this,
That only works for the Chicago Cubs. They just keeping swinging away, making lots of money, filling the stands, loved by everyone (except the South Side); but they haven't won the Series in over 100 years.
When you lose in politics, the other side gets to make the laws, advance their programs, and keep you on the sidelines. If the Republicans become the Chicago Cubs (they seem to already be) of politics, then the country is doomed.
What I've read is that Lugar DID endorse Mourdock, but refused to campaign for him, which is bad enough. Where does it say he endorsed the Rat?
Some idiot asked her if she was a witch. She said no I’m not a witch. What was she SUPPOSED to do?
WAS IT ROVES INCOMPETENCE ...OR IS HE A JUDAS GOAT ?
To borrow from Limbaugh for those living Riolinda a Judas goat is used to lead US sheepels to the slaughter pen . The Republicans were give a chance to use a wedge issue to split up the deomcratic party and blew it.
Besides equating Obama’s socialist schemes particularly his energy policy running up the costs on everything thus forcing those with limited incomes to go on the dole.
Messaging (blaming Obama) that policy in terms those proverbial LIV’s could understand wasn’t even considered.
....Does anybody remember what the Democrats did at their convention ??? First they eliminated any mention of the word GOD...and when they thought twice about doing that they reintroduced the resolution what happened ? They booed God....That resolution was rammed through just like the Affordable Health Care Act ...
Was that fact used in any of the material Rove’s RINOS spewed forth during the 2012 Romney or US senate races his group of GOPES (Government Ofthe People Elite Snobs) used on their hit list ? I like using that acronym because it rhymes with dopes.
Noooo ! They could have used that episode to point out how far to the left the democrat party has hyphenated into; Demo-Coms ...Instead well we don’t like Aikin ...He said what ? OMG OMG he’s unqualified ...If there was a chance he would have been burned at the stake by Rove’s RINOS and the so called “conservative “ talkies spouting Rove’s tripe.
Why ? What drove this ? They were responding to the miss-directtion driven by Obama’s instuments of oppression Mainline Socialist Media (MSM).The Aikin or O’Donnels response to a set up phoney issue had to with something that would never occur in any legislation that would pass their respective desks had they been elected.
THE RESPONSE YOU DIDN’T HEAR WAS THIS “”While at their convention the Democrats were busy dening God . Aikin believes in something like the ten commandments. Including Thou shalt not steal and doesn’t believe that getting elected to office gives you a license to do steal ... Which his opponent seems to have done rather well since being in office. The same thing with Mourdock,O’Donnell, etc,etc, etc.
That presentation could have been expanded to Reid, Pelosi, and the slew of Demo-Com pigs at the trough. Expanding their personal wealth at the expense of the US taxpayers.
Now his bunch seems to be saying if you hold a religious view don’t run for office... We’re gonna save the Republican party ....to be finished off by Obama and the hypenated democrats..
Roves RINOS wrong for America and wrong for the Republican party...
GOD DENIERS LED BY A CONGENITAL LIAR
ARE REDISTRIBUTE WEALTH INCITERS/
FOR FIRST YOUR MONEY THEN YOUR GUNS
BE DEFENSELESS WHEN THEY COME
AND TO THEIR GOVERNMENT YOU MUST RUN
It’s time to get government out of Our face
Our religion and and Our pocketbook
(The above is designed to be printed up and passed around your precinct and your friends and neighbors as a (index sized) palmcard. On the face (REVERSE SIDE)or below the slogan you can put the name of the candidate you favor and the election dates...EXCELLENT FOR SLIPPING UNDER WINDSHIELD WIPERS ON CARS PARKED IN KEY PARKING LOTS CHURCHES, RALLY SITES....
I'm fairly certain that's correct.
Given the caricature that the media were putting up for O’Donnell, I found myself thoroughly astounded by how well she did in the debate that I watched on TV. She gave a truly excellent performance. I really knew nothing about her, and she really impressed me by being totally in command of the facts and laying out her arguments flawlessly.
Then, she appeared in that spot telling us, “I am not a witch”! I can conclude only that she was sandbagged by her own team. Disgusting.
Excellent summation bump!
...for undermining conservatives and The Tea Party!!
Well said, FRiend, well said.
IMHO, that was the real reason for the wailing and gnashing of teeth over O'Donnell. The establishment saw too many conservatives drifting out the doors of the big tent (or Castle, as the case may be), and decided they must put a stop to it. Too many uppity Christians and philosophical conservatives needed to be taught their place.
O’Donnell and Angle were good conservatives, but the Committee turned its back on them and refused to back them in the General Election. We really don’t know how they would have done if the Pragmatics hadn’t screwed them. Maybe still lost, maybe would have won, the GOP never engaged the battles. But there is no denying they were left twisting in the wind by the Roves and Krauthammers.
Today we have Rove doubling down by purging the conservatives. There is a major refusal to learn the right lessons, and we’ll have Speaker Pelosi to deal with inside of two years because of it. I used to fear it, but now I’m sure of it. We have a golden opportunity in the Senate in ‘14, and it’s being blown as we speak. There will be vicious Romney-like attacks on the Tea Partiers in the Primaries, and kid-gloves with the Dems in the Generals Elections. (The strategy that served McCain and Romney so well in the past.)
I swear to God, the GOP, having had to lead Congress and the Senate the decade previous to 2006, simply *does not want to win* in 2014. This is being deliberately thrown to the Dems.
Completely correct.
I recall driving around Christiana Mall and seeing the O’Donnell signs defaced with black witch hats.
I recall what the DEGOP did. Eff them.
That is precisely what I thought at the time.
She could really have had fun with that and eviscerated Coons at the same time.
Tell them the question is so stupid, it's insulting, and the asker should be ashamed. IOW, the proper answer Bill Clinton should have given when asked if he wore boxers or briefs. She did herself great damage with that ad declaring she is not a witch, and I wished at the time she hadn't done it. But there were no other ads because the national committee wasn't making any buys on her behalf.
Once she won the primary, Christine O’Donnell deserved the complete support of the GOP establishment. If the elites in a party, the party’s so-called leaders, feel free to withhold support from the party’s nominee in an election, then what right do they have to demand that ordinary party supporters support the liberal presidential candidates that they help to nominate?
With their support of Illegal Alien Amnesty....Rubio and Paul are actual
Tea Party “mistakes”....not O’Donnell nor Sharron Angle. And Paul...note that Rand got alot of support from the Ron Paul - Alex Jones types.
Only PhonyCon Liberals still whine about ODonnell
There is some confusion about a formal endorsement, but there was no support from Lugar.
Wed, Oct 17, 2012
“”INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Retiring Republican Sen. Richard Lugar is disputing a conservative mailer in Indiana that claims he supports Republican Richard Mourdock and reiterating he will not campaign for the tea-party backed opponent who unseated him in May.
Lugar spokesman Andy Fisher said Wednesday the piece was “clearly unauthorized” and comes from a group that spent $100,000 against Lugar in the primary. Conservative lawyer Jim Bopp’s super PAC sent the mailer to Hoosier voters this week.
Mourdock has continued to try and win Lugar’s mantle in the general election — claiming in Monday’s debate that he had been endorsed by the senator — but Lugar has kept him at arms-length throughout the campaign. Mourdock said Wednesday he’s not responsible for messages sent by outside group’s like Bopp’s.””
I suppose that the “losing is good” argument makes sense if it’s the only argument that you’ve got. I prefer a “winning is better” argument myself.
You’ve got a liberal with a “D” or a liberal with a “R.”
The politicians are playing “Heads I win, Tails you lose.” Are you one of the suckers lined up, rent money in hand, hoping to make your fortune? Either way, with these two parties, we lose every time.
If the Republicans become the Chicago Cubs (they seem to already be) of politics, then the country is doomed.
For the last two decades, we’ve been putting forward squishy, lefty, moderates.
You’re right, we need to stop “swinging away” and run some conservatives. What the hell, GOP hasn’t done it in a long time and it seems to have worked the last time it was tried.
What is mystifying about O’Donnell’s loss as a novice candidate for Senator Biden’s seat becoming the media and GOPe’s ultimate national embarrassment of politics, is that Senator Santorum lost by a LARGER margin, and he was the incumbent!
Santorum made history in his rejection by his constituents, and Romney was forced to drop plans for reelection and left office with 34% approval, yet O’Donnell who has never held office, has been morphed into the symbol of political losers by Rove and the media.
As I understand it, the show was supposed to be funny. The discussion was what you would expect to be taken “tongue in cheek.”
Recently, on FOX’s “The Five,” they were talking about smoking. Beckel said he smoked cigars, another member smoked cigarettes and someone said that Dana Perino smoked Crack Cocaine. She laughed and said “yes, I’m a crack head.”
The “Witch” issue was the same as the crack cocaine segment. Unfortunately, our own party turns on it’s own.
Lugar “supported” Mourdock, but did not campaign for him...
http://www.humanevents.com/2012/09/23/indianas-lugar-backs-tea-party-mourdock-in-senate-run/
She was a bad candidate and lost badly.
You are right, of course.
I am among the group that blames the media and I think the idea of taking the battle to that (those) front(s) is very important.
But we do also have to continue to unseat RINOs where ever and when ever possible.
Now there’s a plan. Instead of putting forward candidates who cannot win, let’s form an entire party that cannot win.
Tell me again about the stunning victories of John McCain and Mitt Romney.
I’m so glad someone has defended Christine O’Donnell. Very good analysis.
You have assumed that since I am criticizing losing conservative candidates within the Republican Party, that I must have supported losing leftie candidates within the Republican Party. You are not paying attention, I don't like losing candidates, period. It bring us to the state of affairs we face now. I did vote for McCain and Romney simply because I do not vote for either Democrats or third party wackos, but I certainly did not support them and their political philosophies.
I think that a major contributing factor to the Republican loss record is that a faction of the conservative movement has decided that they will only support a "true conservative" candidate, probability of election be damned. This has given us some very bad candidates, especially at the state and national level where you have to appeal to a broader electoral base.
I think it is the opposite, the conservatives gave republicans a history making sweep in 2010 and in 2012 the establishment candidates took a bath in Senate races and the top of the ticket, losing about 10 or 12 Senate races and losing the presidency to jimmy Carter.
The only strength of the left wing of the GOP is to instantly change the conversation to the fact that the conservative wing is not infallible, concealing the massive incompetence of the rinos.
Akin wasn't the tea party candidate, but Cruz was.
How many establishment Senate candidates lost in 2012, does anyone know, or have the rinos managed to hide that? Do you know?
Oh, I certainly know, but the question is not quite so straight forward. The Tea Party endorsed candidates who are clearly "establishment" Reuplicans, and more importantly, establishment Republicans lost races where a Tea Party candidate would have not stood a chance. But, let's look at the record.
Jeff Flake won in Arizona. Tea Party or establishment? Only the shadow knows.
Richard Mourdock lost in Indiana. Not establishment
Charles Summers lost in Maine. Establishment guy, Tea Party supported
Scott Brown lost in Massachusetts. Care to guess how a conservative wing guy would do?
Todd Akin lost in Missouri. He was the McCaskill conservative candidate and we all know how that worked out.
Denny Rehberg lost in Montana. Establishment guy. Got anyone in mind who could have beaten Tester?
Heather Wilson lost in New Mexico. This RINO is way too conservative for NM
Josh Mandel lost in Ohio. Just a bad candidate period, not establishment
Tom Smith lost in Pennsylvania. Tea Party guy who is a former Democrat.
George Allen lost in Virginia. Establishment. Think someone else could have done better?
John Raese lost in West Virginia. Establishment guy. Manchin won by 60%, next question
Tommy Thompson lost in Wisconsin. establishment guy who couldn't beat Tammy Baldwin.
Akin was not the choice of the tea party or Palin, so no one owns him (except endorser Michelle Bachmann and the GOPe who campaigned against him in the election), the establishment came out against him after he won the primary in a 3 way split, who knows how much these republican establishment campaigns against republican nominees cost us.
Jeff Flake wasn’t tea party, but was a Palin guy won.
Mourdock was a tea party/Palin guy who the establishment supported and Romney endorsed and made ads for.
Scott Brown was establishment through and through he had tea party people like me helping his campaign, but he was so harshly anti-conservative that he was kicked out of the Senate when he became a man without a base.
Summers establishment, lost.
Heather Wilson establishment, lost in a state with a Palin, Grizzly-mama Governor.
Denny Rehberg establishment guy lost.
George Allen establishment lost, again.
Josh Mandel establishment, lost.
John Raiese, establishment guy, lost.
Tommy Thompson establishment guy, lost.
Palin gave us our only bright spots, our only Senate seat pick-up with Deb Fischer, and Ted Cruz of Texas, the disaster of Mitt Romney gave us Obama, cost us the Senate, and seems to have put the GOP on the verge of splintering as he undermined their platform, and branded them in the worst way possible.
I think that a major contributing factor to the Republican loss record is that a faction of the conservative movement has decided that they will only support a “true conservative” candidate, probability of election be damned. This has given us some very bad candidates,
So, you don’t believe that the GOP back stabbing and undermining the Republican primary winners (when they weren’t those selected by the perfumed princes of the party elite) had nothing to do with the losses?
I didn’t say that. Republicans are shooting themselves in the foot by not supporting the primary winner and that happens to candidates on both sides of the spectrum.
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