Posted on 10/02/2010 3:31:44 PM PDT by pissant
As the public media focuses on the upcoming November elections for House and Senate, a brewing battle within the Republican caucus in the Senate has been largely overlooked.
Many ways exist to describe the two sides of this internal civil wartrue conservatives vs. RINO Republicans; extremists vs. pragmatists; new generation vs. dinosaurs. But, as is usual in politics, the battle may be embodied in two senatorsJim DeMint of South Carolina and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
DeMint has successfully endorsed candidates, Tea Party and otherwise, opposed by establishment Republicans. In Kentucky, DeMints choice, Rand Paul, defeated the candidate endorsed by McConnell in the Republican primary. In Alaska, DeMints choice defeated incumbent GOP senator Lisa Murkowski, who had the full support of McConnell and the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. In Colorado, the Tea Party choice defeated the establishment candidate, Jane Norton. Delawares extraordinary Republican primary result is well-known. In Florida, Governor Charlie Crist was cruising toward the nomination and almost certain victory, only to lose to the insurgent candidate, Mario Rubio, in the primary. It cost Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, $21 million to beat the true Republican, J.C. Hayward, a favorite of the Tea Party.
One has to go all the way back to the late 1960s and early 1970s to see such fierce intraparty conflict. Then, the anti-war wing of the Democratic Party launched an all-out attack on establishment Democrats, electing House and Senate members and, ultimately, nominating George McGovern. Only Watergate and subsequent events forestalled the inevitable Republican wave until the 1980 elections.
Looking at the public statements of DeMint and McConnell shows the disconnect. DeMint has said, in various forms, that he would rather have 30 real Republicans in the Senate than 51 nominal ones.
(Excerpt) Read more at frumforum.com ...
Frum’s Forum??
As in David Frum?
As in the RINO with the donkey ears and tail?
I am sure they are all crying and gnashing their teeth
OF course I read it. It’s from the Frum Forum. It’s like posting something from the NY Times. It’s going to have a leftwing slant.
That they are!
DeMint is Da Man!
If he’s a republican, I’m a republican; if he leaves the party, I leave the party.
Don’t you just love the smell of revolution in the morning?
It just didn’t have a slant, this tipped over and sunk. Or was that stunk.
“I am sure they are all crying and gnashing their teeth”
We will dispatch the RATS in November, then have plenty of time to recruit and vet some great Tea Party candidates for 2012.
FRUM doesn’t seem to understand. This is just the beginning of what’s to come. He’s only been given a small preview of what the future holds for the RINOs.
And of course, it’s all peace and harmony over on the Dim side of the aisle
Demint would be excellent in confronting the Agenda-pushers, but it truly will be a tough fight to gain the Leader role, so long as you have the likes of Snowe, Collins, Graham, McLame, etc. in there fighting for the same progressive/socialist agenda with an (R) by their name.
McConnell is no leader. He is a follower who has no effectiveness or ability in his current role other than to ‘cave’ to the opposition.
DeMint is a leader.
Change is desperately need in Congress and DeMint and Coburn spring to mind as two who could make a difference. Lets rid ourselves of the RINO’s and put some in there who have a clue.
And I would like to add, Gov Palin clearly understands this as well and that is exactly why people are drawn to her. She 'gets it'.
Wrong, Mr.Bell. There is a big difference between the Tea Party and the doomed McGovernites of 1972. The acid-amnesty crowd was on the wrong side of the history — soon to be swamped by the somewhat conservative Nixon in 1972 and the very conservative Reagan in 1980.
By contrast, the Tea Party is on the right side of the issues. Our nation is drowning in debt and Obama-socialism for the indefinite future. We must stand and fight, not get all wobbly like David Frum and the weak-kneed elites.
Uh, it's conservatives versus RINOs. RINOs are democrats who belong to better country clubs. They are not in the same party.
If the GOP retakes control of the Senate, we need to press for Jim DeMint to be the Senate Majority Leader. If we do not retake control of the Senate, we need to push for DeMint to be the Minority Leader.
It’s time to let the establishment RINOs know: You are not in charge anymore; Bucko.
McConnell is a wounded ‘leader’. He’s lost important endorsements, so he’s lost a huge amount of clout. If the Republican caucus re-elects McConnell as leader, that means we will have more work to do in 2012.
“Encourage cost-effective chronic care and more compassionate end-of-life care”
Was Demint for rationed health care or death panels?
Really? He said that? Please cite sources. If you know of any other Senator that is fighting for constitutional government in the way Demint is, by all means, please inform everyone.
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