Republicans revel in wins but ideological fissures loom

Washington Post ^ | November 4, 2009 | hilip Rucker and Perry Bacon Jr.

[La Lydia]

Reenergized Republicans are savoring victories in two states that President Obama won last year, with party chairman Michael S. Steele celebrating the GOP's first turnabout after three years of Democratic wins by proclaiming a "Republican renaissance." But behind the Republican Party's elation after capturing the governorships in New Jersey and Virginia are troubling fissures within party ranks over how best to lead the GOP back to power in 2010.

Conservative grass-roots activists drew national attention to New York's 23rd congressional district by bucking the party establishment and forcing out a Republican nominee, Dede Scozzafava, whom they deemed too moderate. But the conservative third-party candidate they backed, Doug Hoffman, lost by four percentage points to Democrat Bill Owens. The surprising Democratic win could spark new GOP disagreements.

Some top Republicans suggested that the race in New York portends little. Steele, appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," playfully dismissed a suggestion that infighting between conservatives and moderates cost Republicans the congressional seat in New York...

As the party turns toward 2010, however, ideological battles between moderates and conservatives are underway from Florida to Illinois to California, and emboldened conservative activists said they will fan out across the country to challenge establishment candidates in GOP primaries. The divide is not simply between moderates and conservatives, but between the Washington establishment and conservative grass roots...

[La Lydia]

In which PHASE 2 of the MSM Libtard spin commences, Wash Post version.

[goodnesswins]

HA....”fissures”.....I’d say things are GELLING just fine....just not the way the MSM wants them to.

[SERKIT]

RINOs fleeing is not a fissure, it is a cleansing of the small but media-celebrated RINO section of the “big tent”.

[paudio]

It's rubbish. McDonnell perhaps is as conservative as Hoffman, but he won big last night. Part of the reason is in his efforts to separate himself from Scuzza, Hoffman had to keep talking about his credentials as a conservative so he did not have time to build a strong message that appeal to independent. McDonnell stressed on issues that appealed to conservatives as well as independent.

Owens received a 'moderate' position by default, when people learned how liberal Scuzza was and how conservative Hoffman was.

[DBrow]

The Democrats would be screeching for recounts amid allegations of minority disenfranchisement and massive fraud against them if they had a 4% loss.

What is this guy, a conservative or something?

[La Lydia]

Of course it’s rubbish. Look who wrote it.

[dirtboy]

d forcing out a Republican nominee, Dede Scozzafava, whom they deemed too moderate.

Scuzzy wasn't a moderate. She was a flaming liberal who would be left of center in the Dem party. The MSM keeps ignoring that detail, probably on purpose.

[kittymyrib]

LOL...Of course, when Conservatives seek political advice, the WashCompost is where they turn. These clueless wonders don’t even realize how laughable their irrelevant paper is.

[Paladin2]

Conservatives aren’t going to be voting for DIABLOs and JUANnabies going forward. The GOP apparently lacks this understanding.

[goldstategop]

We have to take back the party. I don't think we can win again until conservatives set both its tone and direction. Moderates are nice losers though.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find only things evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelogus

[torchthemummy]

Conservative grass-roots activists drew national attention to New York's 23rd congressional district by bucking the party establishment and forcing out a Republican nominee, Dede Scozzafava, whom they deemed too moderate. But the conservative third-party candidate they backed, Doug Hoffman, lost by four percentage points to Democrat Bill Owens. The surprising Democratic win could spark new GOP disagreements.

Scozzafava was not a nominee that was initially approved by the Republican electorate. Scozzafava was not forced out - she dropped out. And Scozzafava did not drop out in order to support the more conservative candidate. And Scozzafava, conveniently left unmentioned, endorsed the Dem. And Scozzafava, conveniently left unmentioned, received enough votes to be the spoiler since she couldn't be taken off the ballot and absentee votes had already been cast.

That's about enough BS fit into that one paragraph. But also unmentioned is how the Pubbies, major warts and all, had a huge swing of independents go their way most prominently in NJ and Virginia. Typical WaPo.

[nomad]

AMEN!As far as I`m concerned,I`m voting for conservatives and if none are running,I`m not casting a vote in that particular category,did it yesterday in the local elections.I won`t help the enemy,regardless of any letter by their name.

[Conservative Vermont Vet]

Dontcha just love it how all the corrupt State-Run media is always preaching and instructing us on what we should (must) do to go from a slow death of a thousand cuts to outright suicide?

I don't care what any of these far left Obama-Bot sycophants advise and as Rush so aptly put it, since when have these Rat-supporters been concerned with our well-being and if what we are doing is so destructive, why not just shut up, get out of the way and let us march on to our ultimate demise?

OH, no, its because they are scared witless and see the handwriting on the wall; not only the Dummy-Crats but the power hungry Establishment Republitards inside the beltway who care 0 about us, our country and have few conservative principles or values.

If its a war they want, then that's the way it will be and I don't care what initial (R, D, I or S--for stupid) is after their name.

[popdonnelly]

We never read or hear anything about divisions in the Democratic Party, just as we never hear or read anything about extremists in the Democratic Party, or “haters” in the Democratic Party.

[popdonnelly]

Yep, Republicans should be flogging themselves and putting on hairshirts after yesterday’s elections.

[goat granny]

If the main stream media actually called moderate republican what they really are, liberal I am afraid their tongues would stick to the roof of their mouths..

[FTJM]

GAWD, they never stop with the script.

[DBrow]

That’s true of communists everywhere.