It is shocking. The disconnect between leadership and the base is enormous. It’s as though we are fighting the opposition party within our own party... and they certainly don’t hesitate to “go Democrat” on primary challengers from the Conservative base (so long as they don’t do the same on the actual Democrats in the general, once they’ve gotten the nomination).
I don’t think the leadership has any more intention of embracing the small government agenda than we do of embracing big gubmint. It’s anathema to them. It also rather reminds me of how and why the party largely went extinct (outside of country clubs) in the Northeast. You had elitist liberals in charge and running those types of candidates which were (aside from social class) were indistinguishable from the leftist Democrats.
After awhile, there was little point in even running candidates, since the Democrats could be counted on to win every time (you had majorities of legislative seats in MA that would go uncontested). If by some chance one of those “horrid, right wingers” tried to contest things, well, the rich left in the party would put the kibosh on that. Heavens to Betsy, that might embarrass them with their Democrat friends at the champagne & brie parties. How terribly gauche.
No, these establishment guys in DC know they’re in the fight of their lives if they get successfully primaried. They might be able to handle a few being knocked off at a time, they can deal with that (either by quietly making sure said Republican insurgent loses to the Democrat in the general, or by cajoling them or threatening them into line when they make it to DC, as we’ve seen with some of our guys: Coburn, Rubio, Toomey... too many to name. All 3 were the insurgents that forced aside the RINO preferred candidates, a Rovian loser in OK (Kirk Humphreys, who trailed to Democrat Brad Carson), and the latter two buffoons who became Democrats (Crist & Specter — and note how easily those two segued to the opposition)). Cruz, of course, is the only one who has strongly resisted (to a lesser extent Mike Lee of UT and Rand Paul).
Building a critical mass of Cruzites to overthrow the establishment class is paramount. We’ve got to stop supporting these same establishment types that lie to our face that they’ll stand with the Conservative agenda all the while they laugh behind our backs and call us suckers. It’s no longer enough to “vote Republican” if the person is in bed with the Democrats in every imaginable way. They’re not the lesser of two evils, they ARE the evil. McConnell, Boehner, McCain, et al, all willing accomplices to the left-wing agenda. If they could keep their power by switching to the Democrats, they’d do it in a heartbeat.
The conclusion I came to easily after the last election fiasco 2012 is that Romney won the primary because he had no real opponents.
Bachman, Perry, Cain, Santurum, and Newt were all weak candidates a number of them with serious flaws.
Perry was the only one one had a decent resume for that job ( required to convince Republicans he was electable ) and he couldn't handle the debates.
And the debates themselves were a freak show. They all claimed they would veto spending cuts if they were attached to any tax increase even one tenth the amount of the cuts.
And they spent most of the primary beating up on each other and sucking up to Romney.
Want to beat the establishment candidates ? Then it takes a real opposition candidate. Someone who can challenge a Romney or Christie with 'I can do that job'
I bet you wont hear that on talk radio. A talk radio host wanna-bee is not going to do it. Not even if we post 'I would vote for him/her' over and over.
my only point of disagreement:
“lesser of 2 evils” is not a phrase out of western philosophy. It is a made up term that came out of the military in the ‘30’s.
If the GOP candidate is worse that should be reasonably expected ... it is usually best if the DEM wins. Ex. Charlie Bass NH-2 and Roraback CT-5. In that way, conservatives can come back 2 years later, rather than putting up with a liberal GOPer for 20 years.
On the other hand, if there is nobody better, waiting in the wings, capable of getting elected ... then how can the GOPer be evil?
It is true that the “moderates” in the GOP east coast play this game. Example known to all is Doug Hoffman NY-23 ... many grassroots GOP officeholders and party officials somewhat openly supported and voted for Owens rather than Hoffman. Their thinking is that they would rather have Owens for a brief time and come back with their own guy ... which they did.
The irony is that Owens still survives.
The solution is MASS and the opportunity is for the “independent majority” to support candidates in the open DEM state house primaries ... and on the “Independent Party” in the fall. Cross-endorsed by GOP. I think the MASS GOP ain’t worth taking over.
It’s no longer enough to “vote Republican” if the person is in bed with the Democrats in every imaginable way. They’re not the lesser of two evils, they ARE the evil. McConnell, Boehner, McCain, et al, all willing accomplices to the left-wing agenda.
And cynwoody is going right along with it, letting fear manipulate him/her into voting for evil and leftism in the mistaken illusion that he/she is voting "against" the other guy. Cynwood, there is no voting against. When you voted for Romney, you weren't voting "against" Obama, you were voting FOR LEFTISM.
Period.