Posted on 04/11/2014 10:01:47 AM PDT by lowbridge
The Tea Party zealots who haven’t learned from their mistakes in 2010 and 2012 are trying their best to screw up the GOP’s chances to win the Senate this fall.
Where does the Tea Party find these people to run in primaries? Most important, why do they offer them up as legitimate Republican candidates?
The Tea Party bosses have been listening to too much talk radio. They seem to think that what makes a good Republican candidate is someone who sounds like a talk radio host.
But talk radio is all about bombast and attracting callers, not about winning elections.
If Republicans are going to win general elections in 2014 and beyond, we’ve got to put up principled conservative candidates who sound like senators, congressmen, and governors — not kooks.
(Excerpt) Read more at westernjournalism.com ...
I don't care if it's Michael Reagan or Rush Limbaugh, when they double their efforts at the "lesser evil" approach to elections, it's time to tune them out.
They seem oblivious that so many of the 'mainstreet' Republican candidates are supported financially and otherwise by the progressives!
What's wrong with this picture?
Shouldn’t it be up to the voters to decide who’s a ‘kook’, not talking heads??
I agree totally.
But ALL of the GOPe supporters and promoters are also kooks, all of whom should know better.
Tough choice. Damned if we do, damned if we don't.
I simply choose not to go down that "definition of insanity" path.
Akin wasn’t the Tea Party guy in the primary. He was the Christian evangelical fave.
Thank you for explaining the obvious and basic to Mr Budvis, TC.
Additionally, Sen Cruz just got a Bill passed in the Senate - with bipartisan support - banning an Iranian diplomat from the United States. It is headed to Barry’s desk to await his signature. I’m sure 0 will sign it quickly - not!
Hard, but not impossible.
Look around at the progressive kooks who were actually elected and have been making law for term after term...
The "other side" has mastered the art of electing true ignorant, but effective "lawmakers."
Governor Palin gave us Ted Cruz in Texas and the only GOP Senate seat pick-up in Nebraska, this followed the historical tea party victories of 2010.
The GOPe failed miserably. This is meadsjn’s list.
Florida 2012: Rep. Connie Mack IV loses despite being the favorite of former Gov. Jeb Bush
U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV, son of former Sen. Connie Mack and vocal 2012 presidential primary supporter of Mitt Romney, lost his own 2012 campaign for the U.S. Senate seat in Florida to Sen. Bill Nelson in a 13-point landslide.
Mack was heralded as the strongest Republican in Florida to win the U.S. Senate race against Nelson, with early polls showing him only 2-points behind the senator. The support of the embodiment of the Republican establishment in Florida - former Gov. Jeb Bush – did nearly nothing to help Mack in the end.
Rep. Connie Mack lost alongside Mitt Romney and the Republican establishment
Rep. Connie Mack lost his 2012 Florida U.S. Senate race on the same ticket with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who lost the Sunshine State to President Barack Obama.
Florida was a pivotal state in the 2012 presidential primaries because Romney and the Washington D.C. Republican establishment unleashed a barrage of negative attacks against then-frontrunner, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Rep. Mack played a role in this for the Romney campaign by stalking Gingrich at all of his public events and challenging the former Speaker on personal issues in an effort to boost Romney’s prospects in the decisive Florida primary. Romney ended up winning the primary before losing the state – along with Mack – in the 2012 election.
Linda McMahon loses U.S. Senate races in Connecticut for two elections in a row
Establishment favorite and self-financed candidate Linda McMahon lost two U.S. Senate races in a row – in 2010 and again in 2012 – in the state of Connecticut. McMahon managed to lose despite being considered a moderate Republican in a wealthy state that is historically known for embracing centrist members of the GOP.
McMahon is a former executive of the World Wrestling Federation and was able to outspend her primary opponents to gain the Republican nomination both times, including the 2012 primaries, despite losing the 2010 bid for the U.S. Senate.
Establishment Republican figures such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie campaigned for McMahon in 2012, yet failed to help her attract enough votes to win.
McMahon was blown out in a 12-point landslide by Democrat Chris Murphy, marking yet another failure for an establishment-endorsed moderate Republican senate candidate. McMahon lost her 2010 senate bid to current Sen. Richard Blumenthal by 11.8-points.
Former Sen. George Allen loses his bid to regain his old U.S. Senate seat in Virginia
Former Sen. George Allen lost the Virginia U.S. Senate seat he once occupied by a photo-finish in the turbulent 2006 election to former Sen. Jim Webb. When Webb decided not to run for re-election, Allen figured he would have an easy time recapturing the lost senate seat.
Allen was a longtime ally of former President George W. Bush and a consummate Republican establishment politician. He was formerly governor of Virginia and hails from a famous family, with his father of the same name being the former coach of the Washington Redskins.
Despite the huge backing of establishment Republicans, Allen actually fared worse than his 2006 election defeat, losing to former Gov. Tim Kaine by five percentage points.
Former Sen. George Allen loses his bid to regain his old U.S. Senate seat in Virginia
Former Sen. George Allen lost the Virginia U.S. Senate seat he once occupied by a photo-finish in the turbulent 2006 election to former Sen. Jim Webb. When Webb decided not to run for re-election, Allen figured he would have an easy time recapturing the lost senate seat.
Allen was a longtime ally of former President George W. Bush and a consummate Republican establishment politician. He was formerly governor of Virginia and hails from a famous family, with his father of the same name being the former coach of the Washington Redskins.
Despite the huge backing of establishment Republicans, Allen actually fared worse than his 2006 election defeat, losing to former Gov. Tim Kaine by five percentage points.
Former Rep. Heather Wilson loses U.S. Senate race in New Mexico
Former U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson lost her 2012 U.S. Senate election in New Mexico for the open seat to replace former Sen. Jeff Bingaman.
Like Linda McMahon in Connecticut, Wilson’s 5.6-point defeat in the 2012 race marked the second time that she lost a bid for the U.S. Senate. In 2008, Wilson opted to not seek re-election for her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives so she could run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Sen. Pete Domenici. Wilson lost in the Republican primaries in that year.
Former Gov. Tommy Thompson loses 2012 U.S. Senate race in Wisconsin
Former Health and Human Services Secretary and former Gov. Tommy Thompson lost his 2012 U.S. Senate race in Wisconsin by 5.6-points.
Thompson was a former cabinet secretary under former President George W. Bush and a longtime stalwart in establishment Republican politics. He also briefly ran for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.
Former Gov. Linda Lingle loses her 2012 U.S. Senate race in Hawaii
Former Gov. Linda Lingle lost her 2012 U.S. Senate race in Hawaii by 25.2-points, despite considerable support from establishment Republican figures and being a former two-term governor of the state.
Undoubtedly, the unpopularity of fellow establishment Republican Mitt Romney at the top of the ticket weighed on Lingle’s race, as well as the fact that President Barack Obama calls Hawaii his childhood home.
Former Rep. Pete Hoekstra loses his 2012 U.S. Senate race in Michigan
Former Rep. Pete Hoekstra lost his 2012 U.S. Senate race in Michigan to incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow by 20.8 percentage points.
Hoekstra was a former longtime member of the U.S. House of Representatives, a former chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, and very well regarded in establishment Republican circles.
Rep. Rick Berg loses his 2012 U.S. Senate race in North Dakota
Former Rep. Rick Berg lost his 2012 U.S. Senate race in North Dakota by only a single percentage point in a state that Mitt Romney carried by nearly 20 percentage points.
Berg had been an elected Republican politician in the state of North Dakota since 1984 before winning a race for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. As a career politician and sitting U.S. congressman, Berg was the choice of the Republican establishment in Washington D.C.
Sen. Scott Brown defeated in his 2012 re-election for the U.S. Senate by Elizabeth Warren
Former Sen. Scott Brown was the closest Republican to Mitt Romney running in a U.S. Senate race in 2012. Both were moderate Republicans favored by the establishment of the party and believed to be capable of attracting votes from centrist independents.
Unfortunately for both Brown, Romney, and establishment Republicans, liberal Democrat Elizabeth Warren trounced Brown by 7.4-points in Massachusetts, despite a massive amount of spending and robocalls conducted by Karl Rove’s Crossroads SuperPAC.
Rep. Denny Rehberg loses his 2012 U.S. Senate race in Montana
Former Rep. Denny Rehberg lost his 2012 U.S. Senate race in Montana to one of the most vulnerable incumbent senators in the nation. Rehberg, a longtime member of the U.S. House of Representatives and career politician in Montana, was defeated by Sen. Jon Tester by 3.9-points in the 2012 race.
Rehberg’s long tenure in Washington D.C. and relatively moderate record made him the top choice of establishment Republicans in the 2012 primary.
Despite Tester’s weaknesses and President Barack Obama losing the state by 13.7 percentage points in 2012, Rehberg was unable to pull out a victory for his establishment Republican allies
The tea party is mostly Christian Evangelicals, Akin was endorsed by Michelle Bachmann and Huckabee, and some Christians.
That's exactly it. Think Alexander Tyler. This country has been so brainwashed into handouts that handouts are necessary for a vote. A big rude awakening will happen - it's inevitable. There's no turning off the money spigot. A financial collapse is eminent.
Hey, Mike, good luck winning elections without us.
That’s the bottom line.
You guys screw up November, there will be a third party in 2015.
I’m a news junkie and I have no idea who Michael Reagan is.
If he went after liberals the way he goes after conservatives, I’d probably know who he was.
Hmmmm....what does the NSA - and the RINO’s - have on MR??
His hawking his dad’s name/email domaine must not be paying very well. His bashing of Bevin and Stokman reeks of GOPe collusion. Also funny how he slams talk radio - seeing as how he’s a former radio talk show host.
No Sale, MR!!
TEA Party has naught to do with being Evangelical, nor does Huckabee stand well with them. He’s more like Jeb Bush with an authentic accent.
What's your evidence that "Shut up Tea Party" is MR's utterance? The very same article appears on Townhall under the title "The Talk Radio Party?". How do you know "Michael Reagan: Shut up Tea Party" isn't just Western Journalism's click bait?
There is no point to making a point in a primary election only to cede the seat to a 'Rat in November. It feels good for a few months, but it's not worth the hangover.
During the 2012 elections, Reagan endorsed and actively campaigned for Democratic congressman Brad Sherman a pro-choice Congressman who is considered a liberal member of Congress.
On September 20, 2012 Michael Reagan was sued by the creator of the @Reagan.com email service. Michael Reagan was sued along with his partners Tim Kelly (Timothy Michael Kelly) and Jay Hoffman and his company The Reagan Group for fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, conversion, breach of partnership agreement, breach of fiduciary duty, promissory estoppel and unjust enrichment, for dealings related to the Reagan Email service. The lawsuit is still going on as of January 2014"
So, MR is a failed talk show host. That explains a lot. He's just another liberal mole pretending to be a conservative and trying to offer "helpful advice" to the GOP.
But..but...Todd Akin! s>
“Shut up” means you should not have a voice and your opinions do not matter . That must be his attitude toward conservatives
Uhhh, wasn’t Michael Reagan part of talk radio?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.