Doesn't matter when she entered. If Kobach is the one with the greater likelihood of winning, Lightner is the spoiler.
We have to be realistic. The "first in line" principle has often spelled trouble for the GOP -- it was certainly Bob Dole's "turn" in 1996, but he was a lousy candidate.
If Taff is really about as good as the others, then there's no spoiler at all, and may the best campaign win. But if there's a significant ideological difference, there is no valid excuse for two conservative candidates.
What I'm saying is, is that I don't think it matters of the two leading candidates who wins the primary (whether the RINO Taff or Conservative Kobach), because I believe there will be enough disgruntled supporters of either candidate that will simply either vote for Moore in protest or not at all. I believe Lightner can bridge the gap, and we lose nothing in the process (meaning we don't have to compromise any principles).
"We have to be realistic. The "first in line" principle has often spelled trouble for the GOP -- it was certainly Bob Dole's "turn" in 1996, but he was a lousy candidate."
Mostly because he didn't aggressively try to win. If he had shown more of his acerbic wit (a la "The Tonight Show") on the campaign trail, he might've done better. Interestingly enough, because of the high turnout to support Dole in KS, that kept Dennis Moore from winning that seat in '96 against Snowbarger. Even Dubya with Phill Kline (a Conservative) as the nominee couldn't pull him across.
"If Taff is really about as good as the others, then there's no spoiler at all, and may the best campaign win. But if there's a significant ideological difference, there is no valid excuse for two conservative candidates."
I don't think Taff is anything to crow about. He is pro-abort and having to "moderate" (in this case, move rightward) to try to win the nomination. If Taff wins, a lot of Kobach supporters won't vote for him (I wouldn't vote for a pro-abort RINO, either), and compound that with the fact that Moore will attack him for trying to have it both ways (being unprincipled), isn't going to bode well. I just think if we fail to nominate Lightner, we'll lose it one more time.