Posted on 10/13/2011 12:08:55 PM PDT by radioone
RUSH: Ladies and gentlemen, there's a big piece in the New York Times Magazine coming this weekend. It is entitled: "Does Anyone Have a Grip on the GOP?" The subhead: "The Republican Elite Tries to Take Its Party Back." This article prints like 24 pages. It is a major, major New York Times Magazine piece. It confirms everything that I have thought, everything I have speculated, everything I have said about the battle between the Republican elite and the Tea Party.
I can't read the whole thing on the program; I don't intend to. I've got some highlights or quotes that are illustrative here, but this is an open declaration of war from the GOP elites to the Tea Party, and it's right there in the New York Times. And these Republican establishment types are more than willing to be quoted by name, and what I think it all means is they think that they've beaten the Tea Party hordes back. Do you realize that Chuck Schumer and a bunch of Democrats are running around campaigning now against the Tea Party. The Tea Party poses the greatest threat to this country. The Tea Party is a bunch of racist, sexist bigots. This is the message and the Republican elite, while not joining word for word that message, are still joining with the Democrats in the notion that the Tea Party is a problem and needs to be beaten back.
Now, this piece in the New York Times illustrates the obstacles Tea Party lawmakers are up against. All these Republican freshmen in the House, for example, this article makes it plain how difficult their job is. There's even a section in this story on compromise, the bad kind of compromise, the kind of compromise that Republicans have been known for, get along with the Democrats, please the media, show that we're not the unreasonable Tea Party types. That's what's shaking down here. The Tea Party is under assault from the Democrats and the Republican elite, and now the battle has been brought full fore in the pages of the New York Times Magazine.
There's some quotes from various people in this story. Bill Kristol on the Tea Party: "It's an infantile form of conservatism." Scott Reed, veteran strategist and lobbyist: "I think it's waning now," talking to the reporter of the story about the Tea Party's influence. "Party leaders have managed to bleed some of the anti-establishment intensity out of the movement, Reed said, by slyly embracing Tea Party sympathizers in Congress, rather than treating them as 'those people.' Did he mean to say that the party was slowly co-opting the Tea Partiers? 'Trying to,' Reed said. 'And that’s the secret to politics: trying to control a segment of people without those people recognizing that you’re trying to control them.'" This is a Republican consultant talking about how to neutralize the Tea Party.
John Feehery, a lobbyist who was once a senior House aide I think to Denny Hastert is also quoted. "The thing I get a kick out of is these Tea Party people calling me a RINO. No, guys, I've been a Republican all along. You go off on your own little world and then come back and say it's your party. Well, this ain't your party." Vin Weber, r-e, the Tea Party lawmakers. Vin Weber is a former member of Congress from Minnesota, now a big time lobbyist and Republican consultant. Vin Weber: "One thing I do notice about 'em is when I ask them, 'So how are you enjoying it?'" talking about the Tea Party members of Congress, "almost none of them say, 'Oh, jeez, I'm really loving this.' They all say some version of, 'This is not what I'd want to be doing, but I've got to do it for the country.'" So, "Weber seemed genuinely surprised that this aversion to Washington didn't melt away once they arrived in town."
Gosh, what have we always speculated here? Or what have we always known? One of the biggest problems is conservatives run around the country, campaign, and get elected on conservatism; then go to Washington, get corrupted and co-opted by the culture there. Here's Vin Weber admitting it! Vin Weber is admitting it and shocked and stunned that the Tea Party guys haven't fallen for it yet. He says he's surprised. Yeah, they're not really loving this. They're here not doing what they want to do; they're trying to save the country. "Weber seemed genuinely surprised that this aversion to Washington didn't melt away once they got to town." He says, 'I can just tell you when I came to Congress we were rabble-rousers, but, boy, if you'd asked any of us six months into it how we were enjoying it, we woulda said, "This is the greatest opportunity of a lifetime."
"'It just struck me, and it's part and parcel of this anti-government mind-set,'" meaning: "We in the Republican Party. "'We're not anti-government,' these Tea Party anti-government people, why, they're so damn serious, they can't enjoy this! They don't understand the kind of power they've got. They don't realize the fun they could be having. When we got here, we had a ball! We just fell right into it and we wanted to become big parts of the machine!" I'm adding my own words here but that's how I'm interpreting what Weber means. "'Yeah, it just struck me,' Weber said. 'It's part and parcel of this anti-government mind-set.'" This is a reporter writing: "I wondered if maybe the Tea Partiers' contempt for Washington was just a kind of outsiders schtick.
"Weber replied glumly, 'I'd feel better about it if I thought it was,' but Weber said, 'I think these people are genuinely anti-Washington,'" and that makes him nervous. Can't have that! If they're anti-Washington, we don't want 'em here. "Charlie Black, longtime Republican strategerist and lobbyist confidently predicted when he talked to [the New York Times reporter] about the more radical members of the freshman class, they'll become the establishment. You wait." I thought George Will said there was no Republican establishment anymore! I thought the Republican establishment itself was trying to say there's no establishment, in recent weeks. I thought they were all saying it has just a fiction of everybody's imagination. Here's Charlie Black: Yeah, they'll become the establishment.
He's talking about the Tea Party freshmen: They'll become the establishment in time; not worried about it. Bill Kristol again: "I've been slightly, not worried, but I've just regarded it as one of the things I can do as a genuine Tea Party sympathizer to counsel Tea Party types to be sensible, not go overboard and not go in the wrong direction. From my point of view, I wouldn't want 'em to win all of their fights." He wants 'em to lose some. Bill Kristol wants the Tea Party to lose some. The New York Times is worried that the wrong people might get control of the Republican Party. That's what this story is about. The reason why this story is running is because of abject fear of the Tea Party. The Washington elite love a Republican elite that agrees to be second fiddle.
The media and the Washington elite love a Republican elite who agree to be the minority. The Washington elite, the New York Times, and the media love a Republican elite that understands its place is number two in the pecking order. So the New York Times is now worried the "wrong" people might get control of the GOP -- and you know how concerned the New York Times is about the well-being of the Republican Party. They need the party to maintain its mind-set of second fiddle, second place, always on defense, always not really in the clique and striving to get in it. That's what they want the Republican Party to be, and the Tea Party threatens that.
Scott Reed: "Yep, trying to, that's the secret of politics: Trying to control a segment of people without those people recognizing you're trying to control 'em." Luckily none of these hicks in the Tea Party would ever read the New York Times so they won't figure out what's being done on 'em. Stop and think of this. Here are these Republican elites announcing all of this, being quoted by name in the New York Times Sunday Magazine as though the Tea Party members of Congress are never gonna find out about this! It's a -- I don't know -- open declaring of war? What we've always known is going on, what they've always denied is going on, now it's happening and the New York Times proudly writes a cover story in this weekend's magazine of 7,028 words, 73 paragraphs. From the New York Times article: "George Will recently said there is no such thing as the Republican establishment, which is a little like Michael Douglas say there's no such thing as Hollywood." That's from the article. That's not me.
It’s not enough to scare them as long as they put up phonies like Rick Perry, Chris Christie, Jeb Boosh, etc. They need to scared so badly that they run back to their estates and country clubs and never venture into the political arena again.
Yup; donate to the candidate not to the party.
The problem is that establishment Republicans are in charge of the party at all levels, from national to local. No matter how much passion and heft the Tea Party conservatives have, they are not on the inside calling all the shots.
The establishment Republicans may be a numerical minority of the party demographic, but they control the necessary tools and devices to ensure one of their own (Romney, McCain, Dole, Bush) makes it to the top. They control local primaries and caucuses, local party organizations, state committees, and national party entities like the RNC, RCCC, RSCC, etc.
Why is this so? Because this relatively small handful are not tied up in life’s reality tasks, like holding a job or raising a family. They are the full time cadre who are parasitically fed by the political machine - the party apparatchiks, the politicians themselves, the consultants and strategists. At the state and local levels they are those with wealth and occupations that allow them the time to be a county chairman, a committeeman, a donor. Often at that level they are spouses of the same looking for something to do.
Look at your own local organization - how many Republican party functionaries are just average worker types? When you volunteer to help in a local campaign, who is the guy in charge? Not someone like you.
These elitists have political and social views far different from you, and they look upon you as useful rabble to do their dirty work and toe the line to support their preselected candidates. In that regard, they look upon you in the same way democrats look upon blacks and the poor - resources to exploit, but never to listen to.
For all his evil and destructiveness, Obama is a temporary phenomenon. America will not fail because of Obama’s disastrous term, no more so than it did after Carter or the Civil War. If it fails, it will be because Obama’s replacement, by political necessity and dearth of other options a Republican, will be a RINO who differs in degree, not in kind from Obama and his policies. The true conservative, the Reagan successor, will not be around to save America this time.
Republicans will probably win this election by default. The system is set up to rule out those who share Tea Party sentiments, the sentiments of the overwhelming majority of Americans.
But a Republican establishment President surrounded by like-minded Senators and appointees will be a temporary phenomenon also, quickly thorwn out of office because they once again failed the American people.
Think 2006 and 2008.
Is there a photo line up of these “gop elite”?
a deck of cards with pictures or something?
who are these “elite”?
where is the country club?
Perhaps the GOP elite should switch parties ,,,,,, there’s little difference between a lib and a RINO .
how many local GOP clubs are run by old phart idiots?
remember scuzafaza in NY?
Bachman was in to trump palin.
Perry was in to trump bachman
Christi is in to trump Rubio (crist was supposed to win)
Romney is there to win the Huntsman being the vote splitter.
”Kristol told me just after Perry entered the race... Establishment Republicans may prefer Romney to Perry, but their assumption is that either man can be counted on to steer the party back toward the broad center next fall, effectively disarming the Tea Party mutiny.”
That quote needs to be circulated far and wide. It is the very reason Perry has so much money now. The RINOs need to see how many more conservatives they can deceive with their phony candidate. Perhaps this will wake some of them up.
They are lineal and philosophical decedent's of the same swine who stabbed Goldwater in the back back in 1964 because they lost the vote at the convention.
The “modern” GEORGE ROMNEYs, Bill Scantons, Nelson Rockefellers, Kenneth Keatings, Jacob Javitses, Clifford Cases, and Peter Freylinghuysens, resurrected in “MITTS” ROMNEY, Tom Kean Senior, Chris Christie, Chrissie Whitman (Its My Party Too)etc.
Conservative Republicans - the MAJORITY of Republicans - have been poorly served by these elitists whose conservatism runs no further than their PERSONAL pocketbooks and who feel that THEY, as the ELITE of the Party and Nation, and not the majority of the party members or even Americans, know what is best for us.
Personally, I do not think I could support a man like Romney even if he manages to be the only alternative to Obama. Their thought processes are too similar.
whose “center”?
RINO effetes are the mehlman homo-endorsing, marriage is anything, second amendment ha!, atheists need love too, big government is fun and they NEED the center to move leftist so they can feed on our wallets.
Absolutely! I wouldn’t trust the RNC to do what is right with my donation any more than I’d trust the gummint to spend it wisely. Last time I did that, they spent it supporting Linc Chafee, the little crapweasel.
No, they all are subject to the vote. One thing a few years from their re-election they always count on, a short term memory in the electorate brought on by a lack of care and frankly trust in those who we elected to office.
Now we have seen our own goverment turn on the people an loot the treasurey. The Tea Party is awake, pissed and we won’t forget. We ARE taking notes boys. Your day is coming.
The GOP elite will never support Herman Cain if he gets the nomination. He will get the same cold shoulder Goldwater got from the Rockefeller Republicans in 1964. They would rather see Obama reelected than give up power to the Tea Party faction.
As a TEA partier, I’m still working on infiltration. Our county GOP has already been co-opted with 60% or so of the folk attending monthly meetings belonging to the local TEA party!
We’re currently at about 30% on the district level, judging by the last meeting.
Headway is being made.
Join your local TEA party, and do not miss ANY GOP functions.
Negative.
She has a tendency to say some really dumb sh!t, and sh ewould get creamed in a national election.
6-6-6 plan DER DER DER, utterly moronic.
And in the headlines today......
“Obama raises $70 million in 3 months.”
noprogs - that is the smartest thing I've seen from a poster on FR for some time. The Tea Party has been and continues to be the best thing that has happened to the GOP since the days of Ronald Reagan.
Simply stated, the Tea Party is taking over the GOP, one district, one state at a time. We don't need a third party, we need to OWN the GOP - by kicking out the RINO'S - wherever they exist... and the best and easiest place to do that begins at the local level. Problem is, we have a lot of talkers on FR - and too few DOERS like you.
I helped do that years ago now - I loaded my car with computers, printers, fax machines and drove to a state convention BEFORE most people even knew anything about a PC - and helped throw the RINO'S out of power at the state level. It was hard work, with perhaps 3 to 4 hours of sleep over a three day period... but, we won, and we won big. I was credited with being a key part of that win.
The so-called 'establishment Republicans' or 'elite' can and are being defeated - driven from local and state office by Tea Party GOP members. THEY will be the new 'elite' - enough so in the upcoming state and national conventions you will see many of the old RINO's missing completely, and unable to vote.
The ONE thing that very easily could cause Obama to win re-election is Romney becoming the nominee, causing conservative voters to opt out of the election. His problem is his religion. Like it or not, the majority of voters simply won't pull the lever for a Mormon, particularly one with his liberal baggage.
I'm just hoping that the great influx of Tea Party delegates (considerably large) to the conventions will be enough to stop a Romney nomination.
Thinking it’s about time the Tea Party became a real party and kissed the Repugs good bye...
“Unless a viable third party comes along.”
Um....you should say:
Unless a viable second party comes along.
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