[MaggieCarta]

I haven't made up my mind as to whether the recent primaries represent a "Tea Party Failure" or a failure of the GOP to CLOSE THE PRIMARIES.

Yes, I'm shouting again. I am a registered Independent, and I am asking the GOP to close the primaries. Either close them, or find a way to winnow down the choices before the actual open primary vote. Or, have some kind of rule that the nominee must obtain 51% of the vote, or face a run-off.

I am very leery of Synder, and I sincerely believe that crossover Dems were responsible for his win, not Republicans. (Or conservative-libertarian minded independents ;)

[LS]

I live in OH, but am currently in AZ where there are multiple GOP candidates for several offices. I'm hearing the ads. I'm just not seeing a lot of tinkering or maneuvering by non-Republicans. Rather, I see EVERYONE attempting to portray himself as the "most conservative" person in the race. It's difficult for me---an outsider who nevertheless watches politics closely---to figure out who indeed is the "most conservative" among these candidates.

What I see as the most significant message is that EVERYONE IS RUNNING AS A CONSERVATIVE, EVEN THE DEMS. This needs to be the message. If Obamaism is so great, why is NO ONE running on it?