Posted on 11/02/2009 2:02:01 PM PST by pissant
New York Republicans got a rock in their trick-or-treat bags over the Halloween weekend, as Dede Scozzafava ripped off her million-dollar Republican mask and revealed herself to be a Democrat. It was never a very good disguise, but every previous attempt to peer beneath it was punished with stern lectures from Newt Gingrich and the rest of the party establishment. The bags of contributor money Republicans handed to the Scozzafava campaign would have been more usefully spent hiring detectives to trail ACORN operatives, and keep Democrat voter fraud down to manageable levels.
The Scozzafava campaign is the latest dreadful mistake from a party establishment enchanted by the mirage of the perfect moderate candidate. For Republican voters, it seems like every winter is the winter of their discontent. Many of the GOP’s boneheaded mistakes come from exactly the same source as the Democrats’ boneheaded mistakes: the tendency to believe the media action line about themselves. This produces arrogance in the Democrats, while the Republicans are like awkward, lovestruck teenagers – terrified the slightest bit of confident self-expression will blow their chances with the cute moderate in the pink sweater seated beside them in homeroom class. They suffer beneath the same irony that crushes every awkward teenager, since confident self-expression is exactly what is needed to connect with the object of their affections… assuming they’re not obsessing over someone they never had a chance with anyway.
Establishment mouthpieces trying to rationalize the Scozzafava debacle as a tactical maneuver, designed to win a liberal district by running a moderate candidate, can save their breath. The success of Doug Hoffman’s insurgent candidacy blows that argument out of the water. Even if he suffers a narrow loss on Tuesday, Hoffman has certainly proven himself competitive. Just imagine what he could have done with, oh, say about $900,000 in Republican party funding!
As it stands, Hoffman has already crushed one of the Democrats in the race, and stands poised to claim victory over the other - and he did it with the help of all the conservative hobgoblins lurking within liberalism’s nightmare closet. While Newt Gingrich was droning through the third hour of his Power Point presentation, explaining why running the Card Check-supporting wife of a union thug was a brilliant political maneuver, Sarah Palin roared up in her 4×4 and shouted the obvious truth: voting for actual conservatives is the only way to clear away the Obama malaise.
Every district presents different political challenges, and there are places where both parties are compelled to run candidates who deviate from their core philosophy. The degree of deviance is the issue… particularly for the Republicans, whose core philosophy runs counter to the collectivist momentum of the past century. The Democrats certainly have problems with their mavericks, but usually only when they attempt to implement the most extreme policies, such as trapping America in the nightmare of state-run medicine. As long as the growth of the State bubbles along at Clinton levels, the “Blue Dog” Democrats are content to sit quietly on their porches, ignoring the Republicans waiting for them to bark.
Meanwhile, the Republicans keep running “moderates” who prove to be very useful to the Democrats… which keeps the growth of the State bubbling along at Bush levels. The radical nature of the current Administration makes the idea of “moderate” compromise laughable. What’s the moderate position on freedom-crushing trillion-dollar health care and environmentalist legislation? They’re okay, as long as the Democrats pinky-swear to keep the cost under $800 billion? That’s the kind of promise no politician could keep, even if it was made in earnest. A moderate Republican is someone who lives in a state of perpetual surprise as he ponders the monthly bills for nanny-state government. What’s the point of electing people who are guaranteed to spend the rest of their political careers complaining about how they’ve been played for fools?
Too much of the Republicans’ “Stupid Party” strategy is based on the mechanics of getting people with little elephants on their campaign signs elected. They view the election as the conclusion of a contest, when in fact it’s only the beginning. A successful Republican Party doesn’t have to be ideologically rigid, but it should insist on candidates who possess an intellectual foundation of conservative theory, and the ability to explain it at least as well as the thousands of people posting comments on conservative blogs.
Republican voters would be well-advised to ignore the people who engineered the Scozzafava debacle, and listen for the sound of Sarah Palin’s monster truck instead. America needs conservatives more than it needs Republicans. Both the party, and the country, benefit when they are one and the same. Next Halloween, just to be on the safe side, we should test the blood of every “moderate” Republican with a hot wire and a petri dish, just to make sure we don’t have another DIABLO on our hands.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2369765/posts
"It appears Dede Scozzafava is funneling RNC, NRCC, and donor dollars through her campaign account to her family."
The Stupid Party: a film with endless sequels.
“Too much of the Republicans’ “Stupid Party” strategy is based on the mechanics of getting people with little elephants on their campaign signs elected. They view the election as the conclusion of a contest, when in fact it’s only the beginning.”
The white-hot heart of the problem, IMHO. Good article, thanks.
Colonel, USAFR
Exactly. What the heck is a moderate? A mostly massive spender? A mostly big government nanny state believer?
Egg on Newt.
It’s like this. Moderates want conservatives to support their campaign for party unity but Moderates won’t support conservatives. It’s strictly a one-way street.
The Republicans have just never learned that old lesson, “When given a choice between a democrat and a democrat, people will vote for the democrat!”
Always has been
I think that the GOP should file a lawsuit against her for fraud. The Republican Committee would not have given her any money if they had truly known her real colors (at least one can hope they wouldn’t).
Most of the talking heads are sticking by the idea that this finally, at last, reveals Republicans are ideologues, with a little-tent philosophy, and are forever doomed to lose elections for their counterproductive intransigence.
As if Democrats would ever run George Bush as a candidate.
That was perfectly directed at the GOP
Huh? What Republican Committee WOULDN'T have given a RINO $900,000?
What did they all do with McCain last year and so many others before?
how much money did they waste on Lincoln Chafee which could have been spent on Conrad Burns?
Getting a “moral victory” from the Republican leadership isn’t enough.
They screwed up, and they screwed up badly. And more importantly, this is *not* the first time that they have made this mistake.
RINOs are NOT WORTH IT. The Republican party leadership bent over backwards to support Senator Jeffords, who rewarded their loyalty by leaving the party. George W. Bush personally pulled for Senator Arlen Specter, because HE WAS A REPUBLICAN. He begged and pleaded for party loyalty to save his sorry rear end, and they gave it to him. And Senator Arlen Specter DOUBLE CROSSED THEM.
These were not little defections. They were done right at the very moment they could cause the most damage to the Republican party. They didn’t lose the battle, they lost the war.
But there is no surprise there. If you look at the recent history of the RINOs, something stands out. They ALWAYS betray the party right at the most destructive time. The time when it will cost the party the most. The time that will hurt the entire country the most.
Sure, they may vote with the party a hundred times, for little, piddly things of no consequence. But when the score is tied, and it’s the final seconds of the game, you can bet your bottom dollar that the RINOs will not just fumble the ball, but throw it into the waiting arms of the Democrats, so that *they* will win.
How STUPID do you have to be to fall for that, over and over again?
The RINOs always talk a good game, about how *essential* it is to the Republican party to be “inclusive” and “moderate”. How *vital* it is to give up on those principles held dear, for the hope of some minor gain.
The RINOs always pitch “selling your birthright for a mess of pottage.”
The RINOs prefer the Republicans to be in the minority, because that is when the RINOs are strongest. Because if just a few Democrats of conscience just cannot abide what their party is doing, the RINOs are there to step in and save the day for the Democrat radicals.
So why should such people get any support at all from the party? If Olympia Snowe wants to be a liberal so badly, why doesn’t she pay for the privilege herself? The same with Collins, Graham, and the other weaklings.
They are so committed to liberalism, so willing to support Democrats before conservatives, in fact so opposed to conservatives that they will support radical leftists before they will support conservatives, why does the Republican party even give them the time of day?
It is no wiser than nurturing vipers to your bosom because they look cold. RINOs will never help. RINOs will always betray, double cross and defect. So to hell with them all.
The country is at stake so the situation is not funny, but when I read this, I had to laugh .....
They are this very day shoveling money to Charlie Loafers in Florida to defeat a conservative challenger.
I think the Rep. insiders always knew what she was...but they didn’t care. Lets face it, the Republican leadership doesn’t like conservatives, they never did and never will. They just want our vote......skanks all..
I used to really like Newt, but he lost me with the illegals.
Great article.
Now for the toughest question of the day:
Is Newt friend or foe? He certainly doesn’t seem to represent social conservatives, and he’s not acting strong on the fiscal conservative side either. Me thinks he enjoys his speaker fees and the amount of media access he gets by being who he is now. It isn’t good for us.
Is Newt Gingrich good for the conservative cause? That’s the real question.
Not anymore. It's like an intersection with all directions having a one way arrow pointing away from the intersection.
No more JUANnabies.
That's a BIG negatory there buddy.
My thoughts exactly.
After Hoffman and a win in the NY 23d it will be time for Conservatives and the Tea Party movement to get behind Marco Rubio and send Charlie "Light-In-The-Loafers" Crist back to Candy Land.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who sees it for what it is!
Thanks for posting!
Newt has lost the “moderate” support he once held with conservatives. By backing the liberal candidate, against all arguments against her, he showed true colors not worthy of the label conservative.
His downfall began when he picked party loyalty over conservative principles; as part of his winning strategy, he lost what little conservative backing he had left by going after Palin for her support of the only conservative candidate.
Hannity will continue to bring on Newt to stump his books and videos and for his remarkable knowledge of politics; real conservatives will tune him out.
Newt committed political suicide and it couldn’t happen to a more deserving RINO.
I won't presume to have the 'real' answer to that important question but after Newt's endorsement of fake 'Republican' Dede Scozzafava 'because the local party nominated her', my answer is: not any more!
Newt’s NY23 antics were just icing on the cake after hanging out on the Pelosi couch.
The party’s soon gonna’ be over for both of the stupid parties.
Right now he’s on the road with Sharpton pushing Obama’s education plans.
I believe finally conservatives have had enough and the blinders are off.
It will be telling if Newt is ignored as well as other so called conservative leaders who’ve preached to us to negotiate our beliefs over and over again.
Leave Newt and others like his to smooch on the sofa with Pelosi and Sharpton.
Eeeeewwwww.
Well said!
The author is right about the stupid Pubs.
I would only add that for those not so stupid Pubs, the Rats simply PORK them into submission, which is nothing but bribery, IMO.
Newt is neither friend nor foe, which in my book makes him worse than a foe. At least you know where you stand with a foe.
Newt is a bad advocate for conservatives to the degree he is one at all. He might be good, but only as a bad example.
I wonder if Newt knows how far he has fallen and more importantly why?
Well Gingrich will be eating humble pie tomorrow night!
True, and Elizabeth Dole was ultimately punished by misguided NC people for the wrong reason.
Beautifully said. That's the exact tone of the Tea Party conservatives, and the one that more and more Americans will be taking in the coming months and years.
I wonder how many dollars went from Scuzy to the stupid party.
It seems candidates PAY MONEY for the candidacy like one pays for an insurance anuilty.
“The Republican Committee would not have given her any money if they had truly known her real colors (at least one can hope they wouldn’t).
Keep telling yourself that...
Tonight on Hannity, Dick Morris said the Republican Party is headed by some people who aren’t very smart.
It’s not often I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with Morris, but this was certainly one time that I did.
AMEN!
Yes, a very good read!
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