Posted on 11/04/2010 4:30:30 AM PDT by Dr. Scarpetta
There is a singular event that shoved the Republican Senate car over the cliff.
That event was the primary victory of Christine O'Donnell. This morning she used a phrase that is right on the money. That description is "Republican Cannibalism."
I personally hold Karl Rove to blame, followed closely by Senator John Cornyn. Rove is an establishment Progressive Republican of the first order.
Following O'Donnell's message of values victory in Delaware, Rove started slinging mud in her direction because he realized she was a woman that couldn't be bought & sold on a D.C. street corner.
It was Rove who almost exclusively undermined an untested Republican. When challenged, he became entrenched, making it a media story.
Coming out of a surprise primary victory, everyone would obviously be questioning O’Donnell’s candidacy.
It's the "Man Bites Dog" story. Rove turned an opportunity to help create an up-and-coming political star into much less.
The bottom feeder Rove chose for his personal aggrandizement to put blood in the water. The sharks had a feeding frenzy.
The result was that yet another "Traditional Values Candidate" was beaten by her own political party, & the momentum of several other races was slowed.
It gave Reid & others the chance to further paint traditional values candidates as kooks. The Republican cannibalism resulted in the Senate leadership failure to get behind Republican nominees.
The cannibalism by a self-professed REPUBLICAN strategist, wrapped up is his own glory led to lost momentum by MIller, Fiorina (albeit her real defeat was the unfortunate infection), Buck, Angle & Rossi.
His poor choices contributed to a decay of no less than 15 percent-point in Delaware. Had Delaware been advocated by Rove, rather than diminished, today we would be looking at a three-seat Senate majority, & a Republican Governor in CA.
(Excerpt) Read more at stgnews.com ...
We no longer want RINOs. I don’t care if he would have won. Let the Democrat fail. They always will. RINOs just lie their way through life. I guess you fall for lies.
Give it up. If she were any kind of candidate, she would have won.
This total fantasy that Rove's stupid outburst somehow MADE the democrats run against her is utterly absurd.
Somehow Sarah Palin has become a kingmaker while the entire establishment has treated her with disdain at best. But O'Donnell was this incredible awesome senator-in-waiting, but one comment destroyed her?
Ridiculous.
Every single week, Gov. Palin and C. ODonnell took on Obama and the corrupt DNC.
She took on nothing. She has accomplished nothing, has no credibility, can't even manage her own finances as a single woman. Stop linking her to Palin, a far more powerful force in this race than Rove, who couldn't help her. Palin is outstanding and accomplished, O'Donnell is a poor victim.
She would have been Senator TODAY (not January 2011) had not backstabber Rove attacked.
Yeah--she lost by double digits because she was an incredible, outstanding candidate--who's already lost TWICE BEFORE by double digits--because Karl Rove made a mean comment.
Your use of a superhero picture shows the problem with those who become cheerleaders for personalities instead of thoughtful conservatives who aren't fooled by TV images and celebrity foolishness.
She lost, again, and she will go away while the real, accomplished candidates who made it on their achievments will assume the offices they earned without whining.
I don’t know if she would have won, but it certainly is possible. There is absolutely no excuse for Rove’s attacks. It was purely a matter of ego. He’s never been all that good. George W. Bush would have won comfortable victories without him. With him, he was barely elected both times.
Christine was not the best candidate, thats for sure, but Rove should have shut his mouth until after the election, period. His criticism would have come across as much more constructive. Now, the haters will reject what he says, as good as his advice might be. He should have been the bigger and smarter man.
When Rove went on the attack, it turned into a media feeding frenzy.
There’s absolutely no defense for his behavior.
If Rove was just being pregmatic, he would have said I don’t believe she is the best candidate we could have fielded there, period. No, he went beyond that in an across the board full attack on her. It was beyond the pale, bitter and petty. Coons has to run again in 2012, let’s hear what he has to say about whom should run against him, Castle, the RINO? The results are the results of course but does anyone think they were not worried as they sent both the boy wonder and his comical side kick into De where they have a 2 to 1 advantage in party membership, to try to ensure they held the commic’s senate seat.
Tokyo Rove sunk O’Donnell, plain and simple! In one fell swoop, I lost nearly all respect for Tokyo Rove!
Well said.
...And we have no business supporting such an empty candidate when we’re always going on about how we’re different from the dems, we have standards....
Just so, if the Tea Party and those aligned with it want to be a long-lasting movement that is taken seriously as a political force, it must act like a serious political force. Miss “I am you” O’Donnell was a profoundly unserious candidate whose incompetence and superciliousness reflected very poorly on the group that was credited with her primary success. It may be painful to admit a mistake after the fact but the Tea Party must recognize that this was a mistake and endeavor to make better decisions in the future. Too many more unforced errors along these lines will lead to the quick marginalization of this movement and it will be consigned to the dust bin of history along with the all but forgotten “Reform” party. Please people, this is too important.
I think Rove should be kicked out of the Republican Party and off of Fox News. He’s a back-stabber and a traitor to the Republicans and an obviously dishonest and self-interested “journalist”.
But I don’t believe that CO lost because of Rove.
Just my opinion.
>>>>I do nor disagree with this article, but someone should also be called to task for coming up with her first major TV ad, “I am not a witch”
She didn’t run the prefect campaign. IT DID NOT HELP for her to be running against the DemonRat in the race, the media, and the REPUBLICAN ESTABLISHMENT. Once the primary was over - the Repulican establishment, if they couldn’t help - should have done no harm. THEY DID HARM. KARL ROVE DID HARM.
THe simple answer is to DEFUND HIS ACTIVITIES. DEFUND THE NRSC.
‘Castle had a better chance for the seat.’
Not after he was defeated in the primary. The question is about ‘Republicans’ who continued to attack the official GOP candidate in the general election. Where I come from these folks are called ‘Democrats’.
Yes. Let’s be real...Castle had a better chance for the seat IF conservatives rallied behind him in the interest of party unity. The fact is, he couldn’t win his own primary. By definition, a person who cannot win their own primary is also a weak candidate. Let’s be clear...O’Donnell would have ALSO had a better chance for the seat if the RINO centrists would have rallied to her cause, too!
Sure, he did as would any liberal Republican. But, why elect a warmed over democrat?
Christine O’Donnell may have been too young, too naive, carried too much baggage from her youth etc., etc.,
Christine O’Donnell also showed courage by running for election at the risk of humiliation.
How many of her critics have demonstrated such boldness to run for election rather than just running their mouths and typing policies, principles and puffery on a blog?
Karl rove is about winninig not advancing the tea party.
She won the primary...Rove should have said nothing...let her sink or swim...he allowed the media to use his name to trash her..
If she was such a bad candidate, why did the Republican running in the same district, for Congress, get the same vote? Guess it wasn’t about O’Donnell after all.
So when we get to the choice between Stalin and Mao, we have to pick the most Conservative between the two?
No thanks, I will only vote Conservative.
You’re right, he shouldn’t have said what he did. But it’s fascinating how o’Donnell’s fans see no other reason for her crushing failure than that one comment. NO other reason. I’ve never seen anything like the closed-mindedness, the unwillingness to be honest with oneself about a terribly flawed candidates blindingly obvious failures.
Please tell me where the support or non-support of Michael Steele, or a mountain of criticism from the MSM, or party infighting completely destroyed ANY OTHER race by double digits.
Yet somehow, O’Donnell, who once polled at FOUR PERCENT and then lost to Biden by double-digits, who made two of the most laughable and laughed-at ads of the campaign, who gave interviews where she clearly exhibited her lack of knowledge on important topics...she was on her way to victory, until Karl Rove bitched on a TV show most voters didn’t even see.
The dems were stymied, they were frozen in their tracks by O’Donnell’s smarts and skill at winning elections, at her incredible experience...but then Karl Rove spouted well-known complaints about her, and suddenly they realized they could attack her and win!
Forget that she was ALWAYS behind in the race. No, Rove’s words struck like lightning, wiping out all her support.
This utterly embarassing candidate is supported by utterly blind cheerleaders who would be mocking her incessantly if she had a D after her name, and they know it.
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