GOP’s Civil War 2010 — a prelude to 2012 (Tea Partiers bad, RINOs good)

The Hill ^ | September 14, 2010 | Chris Kofinis

[2ndDivisionVet]

How bad can the civil war get? We may find out Tuesday in Delaware. Mike Castle should have walked to the GOP nomination — that is, until Sarah Palin and her merry Tea Party men decided to back Christine O’Donnell.

To put this into perspective, Castle was all but a lock to win: a moderate Republican who would have won if not for the fact that by Tea Party standards Castle is a Das Kapital-reading, want-to-take-your-guns-away-and-tax-you-to-the-nines liberal. It almost makes you laugh, as a Democrat, how the GOP is engaged in a never-ending, brutal civil war over ideological purity. From the Florida governor’s race to the Alaska Senate contest, from the Nevada Senate to the Utah Senate and from Colorado governor to now Delaware Senate, the Tea Party is on a warpath not against Democrats but Republicans. The question is, Where will it end? I have the answer. It won’t until 2012 (maybe).

The Tea Party that is now raging will cost the Republican Party at least two Senate seats, and maybe more House and governors’ seats, and has given the Democratic Party the nail with which to hammer in the key message to moderates and independents that this is one crazy, extreme right wing of the Republican Party that wants to grab power, having just begun its GOP bloodletting. If you thought the 2010 GOP civil war was fun to watch, wait and see what happens in 2011 and 2012. In fact, the true implications for the Republican Party will not be felt for months and months after the midterms, when the Tea Party/Sarah Palin/Dick Armey wing realize that their higher calling is to get a Tea Party president (scared yet?).

Days after the midterms, the Tea Party will paralyze Republican leaders fearful of being the next Tea Party victim. There is not a single Republican running in 2012 — for any office — who will not be thinking, “If I vote this way, the Tea Party will get me” — kind of the political version of the bogeyman for Republicans. Even with the congressional paralysis that will ensue, the Tea Party Republicans (by the way, is that an insult to Tea Partiers or not?) will not be satisfied. Nope, they have their sights on a much bigger prize — the White House, and President Obama’s defeat.

Now, here’s where it gets fun. You are going to see at least a half-dozen Tea Party candidates, from Sarah Palin to Newt Gingrich, you will have the Tea Party bandwagoners like Rick Santorum, and then you will have the establishment Republicans like Mitt Romney, who will suffer a death of a thousand cuts as they all run scared from the protests and ideological threats of their Tea Party opponents. No doubt candidates who would stand a better chance of winning, such as Mitch Daniels or John Thune, may decide to sit this internecine battle out completely. So, with every debate that will be televised and commented on ad nauseam by the cables news and blogs, the public will witness an ever-scarier vision of a Republican Party that hates — and I mean hates — moderates. They will witness candidates battling with Palin as to how far right they can get. All of this soap opera will develop and will frame Republicans as a party that is anathema to moderates and independents. Now, this is where it gets interesting.

If the establishment Republican Party gets its way, Mitt Romney is its nominee — a Massachusetts Republican. Now, does anyone really believe they will embrace a Romney? C’mon, “Massachusetts liberal” are fighting words for the Tea Party activists. So left with the choice of backing Romney or running as an Independent, what do you think a Sarah Palin or others of her ilk will do? Does anyone in the Republican Party believe that the very same people who are intent on bringing them down in state after state in the name of conservative purity are going to nod in approval at Mitt Romney’s candidacy? Not a chance.

Much like we are witnessing, the Tea Party leaders would rather lose the seat and prove some fruitless point than win. So here’s what to expect. Unless a Tea Party candidate wins the nomination, some Tea Party candidate will run as an Independent. They will run. They will win 10 (even 15) percent of the vote, and they will all but guarantee Barack Obama’s reelection.

As for 2010, if there is one way to win over swing voters, moderates and undecideds in these close districts and states, it’s to paint the Republicans with one broad Tea Party brush. Because the truth is unmistakable — the more you see of them, the more you thank yourself that there is a Democrat to vote for. And if anyone has any doubts — watch the results on election night and see how many Tea Party candidates win in swing states.

In the end, Democrats can take solace in the fact, in what will be a difficult election year — at least we’re up against Republicans. Just imagine if our opponents made sense and were unified. Now, that’s a scarier thought than the Tea Party.

[2ndDivisionVet]

"There is not a single Republican running in 2012 — for any office — who will not be thinking, “If I vote this way, the Tea Party will get me”

He says that like it's a bad thing.

[DManA]

There is not a single Republican running in 2012 — for any office — who will not be thinking, “If I reveal the fact that I’m a socialist/statist the Tea Party will get me”.

Damn right.

[agere_contra]

The stench of liberal fear is palpable in this piece.

[Redleg Duke]

The Hill and Politico, just two of the many propaganda organs of the DNC.

[Diogenesis]

"If the establishment Republican Party gets its way, Mitt Romney is its nominee — a Massachusetts Republican. "

Romney (author of RomneyCARE and gay marriage enforced by him)
is not eligible. His father was Mexican.

[LibLieSlayer]

Hey chrissie... you are a scared little leftist fag.

LLS

[MNJohnnie]

Instead of penning such silly articles, this clown might want to read the polls. His party stands to get a butt kicking of historic proportions in Nov because of this sort of arrogant disregard for the will of the people.

[Diogenesis]

"Does anyone in the Republican Party believe that the very same people who are intent on bringing them down in state after state in the name of conservative purity are going to nod in approval at Mitt Romney’s candidacy? Not a chance.",

He says that like it's a bad thing.

[MissesBush]

So not being a lock-step party of zombies and sheep like the Democrats means we’re at war with one another? It’s called the democratic process the Hill. At least there’s some free thought still left in our party unlike with that satanic cult known as the Democratic party where they pay mindless devotion to the will of “She Who Must be Obeyed” (Pelosi) and the Grand Zombie Master Obama. I may not like everything out of the Tea Party movement and I don’t always support the candidates they say should have our support, I think some are too far to the right for the states they are running in, but I’m glad conservatism still has a robust internal debate instead of all chanting “Thank you ma’am may I have another?” as our party leaders all beat us into submission such as is happening on the left.

[eak3]

Id rather see Castle get beat tonight and O’Donnel get trounced in November than for this RINO to keep slithering around. Us Tea Partiers need to win the fights we can and go down swinging the fights we cant.

[I am Richard Brandon]

Hmmmm. He’s got a Greek-sounding name. Can’t be good!

[Diogenesis]

This nonsense ignores that spoiler MITT ROMNEY and his vicious team threw the
last election to Obama thinking he would then inherit the GOP mantle.

The PEOPLE do not support such internecine warfare.

Fact: The McCain/Palin ticket was up ++4 to 10 pts. in some polls, days prior to the election.

Late in October, The American Spectator's The Prowler revealed:
"Former Mitt Romney presidential campaign staffers…
have been involved in spreading anti-Palin spin to reporters, seeking to diminish her standing after the election.
'Sarah Palin is a lightweight, she won't be the first, not even the third, person people will think of when it comes to 2012,'
says one former Romney aide…
'The only serious candidate ready to challenge to lead the Republican Party is Mitt Romney.
"Some former Romney aides were behind the recent leaks to media, including CNN, that Governor Sarah Palin was a 'diva' and was going off message intentionally."

---

The Palmetto Scoop reported: "One of the first stories to hit the national airwaves was
the claim of a major internal strife between close McCain aides and the folks handling his running mate Sarah Palin."
"I’m told by very good sources that this was indeed the case and that a rift had developed, but it was between Palin’s people and the staffers brought on from the failed presidential campaign of former Gov. Mitt Romney, not McCain aides."
"The sources said nearly 80 percent of Romney’s former staff was absorbed by McCain and these individuals were responsible for what amounts to a premeditated, last-minute sabotage of Palin."
… aides loyal to Romney inside the McCain campaign, said The Scoop, reportedly saw
that Palin would be a serious contender for the Republican nomination in 2012 or 2016, which made her a threat to another presidential quest by Romney.

---

Erick Erickson said:
"These staffers are now out trying to finish her off ….hoping it would ingratiate themselves with Mitt Romney."

---

"Who's the Palin Leaker from the McCain Campaign?
National Review Online The publication of a Vanity Fair profile of Sarah Palin
appears to have opened old wounds in the McCain campaign.
... the source of the “Diva” leak was Nicolle Wallace’s husband."

---

Kathleen Parker: "[I]t is increasingly clear that Palin is a problem." "Parker ... says something publicly that many of us have thought privately
but lacked the courage to say out loud - Palin should step down:"

---

"Kathleen Parker: After Interviews, Palin Should Bow Out"

---

Kathleen Parker: "Romney would bring more than squeaky clean qualifications
and youthful good looks to the ticket.
Romney would seem a logical choice."

---

"Parker: Romney raised bar on freedoms"
Kathleen Parker: "If Kennedy's speech was an important landmark in American political history,
Romney's was surpassing. With heartfelt humility and poetic eloquence,
he tracked the nation's struggle with and for freedom."

---

Staggering bigotry of Kathleen Parker - UPDATED"

---

Who benefits most from Sanford meltdown? Californian (that's right) Mitt Romney

---

"Peeking Out From the McCain Wreckage: Mitt Romney"

"Someone's got to say it: IS MITT ROMNEY RESPONSIBLE FOR OBAMA'S VICTORY?"

"Vanity: Team Romney Sabotaged Palin and Continuing to Do So?"

"Romney Supporters Trashing Palin"

"Romney advisors sniping at Palin?"

---

[redangus]

My concern is that, first the party is getting involved in the primary process in Delaware and secondly, they have openly stated that if Castle loses they will not support O’Donnell. I thought the primary was where the party stood down and let the people decide who they wanted then the party supported the people’s choice.

[redangus]

So you would rather go down in defeat and give the Dems another vote for power than support the primary winner. You are no better than the party leaders who say they won’t support O’Donnell if she wins and make the author’s point.

It’s always a numbers game people. Would we like to have the most conservative candidate win, yes. But, it is still ultimately about winning and putting butts in the seats on our side of the aisle.

If the party won’t support O’Donnell if she wins and you won’t support Castle if he wins than in either case the Democrats and O’Bama/Pelosi/Reid win.

[Nanny7]

Unless the Repubs become the party of true-conservatism, the American people will have no counter option to the true- left Dems.

[pallis]

Just to clarify things. Castle is a Democrat who doesn’t have the decency to run as a Democrat. If he wins, a Democrat wins. If he loses a Democrat loses. We’ve had ample opportunity since 2006 to see where Democrats are taking this country. This country can’t take much more of it. Christine O’Donnell is the only option conservatives have in Delaware, and she doesn’t have to worry about doing what the Tea Party tells her. She already knows what is right.

[eak3]

we know those enemies, Pelosi, Reid and whatnot...the Rino’s are like wolves in sheep clothing. harder to detect but just as dangerous. Im not going to vote for a candidate simply based on the fact he/she has an R next to his name. Castle needs to go along with the rest of them, and if the state can get rid of him tonight, then by all means do it.

To take your point of view and reverse it somewhat, you’d rather compromise and take a RINO just to keep a Dem out of office. Thats whats wrong with the republicans today.

[longtermmemmory]

THIS IS GOOD!

They ignored us on obamacare

They ignored us on Sotomayor

They RIDICULED us on Kagan (and thought Grahmesty would provide cover)

I would LOVE to see Snowe and/or Collins ousted in a primary next.

[fantail 1952]

The Hill would call this tripe of an article "balanced" because the don't use the term "tea baggers".

The people, represented by the TP are the ones selecting the candidates to represent them from the bottom up, not the R's or D's telling the people who should represent them, from the top down.

The TP understand perfectly how the Top Down principle works, but the establishment doesn't yet understand how bottom-up functions. The difference between the major parties is that the R's have a clue. The D's never will.

[CPT Clay]

They have no idea what is coming their way!