Posted on 11/04/2010 4:30:30 AM PDT by Dr. Scarpetta
08bil98z24: “An election is all about winning ...”
No. It’s not. It’s not a black and white thing where winning is all that matters. If we win with people who will not do what we want them to do (at least most of the time), we lose. In other words, winning elections with people like Spectre, Castle, Chafee, Jeffords, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc., is LOSING. Those are the extreme cases where we sacrificed ideology to win elections. If conservatives are going to have their noses rubbed in O’Donnell’s failure, moderate/centrists need to take responsibility for their own political foul ups (I’m not holding my breath).
That is one of the dumbest posts I have ever read here. She can blame Rove. He was an a$$.
Right, and who in the GOP gave verbal support to O'Donnell and the other Conservatives running for Senate? No one except Senator Jim DeMint.
Then we have former Senator Lott saying the Republicans didn't take the Senate because “we didn't nominate the best candidates”. Lott does not realize it is the voters who chose the best candidates during the Republican Primary. And once the candidates were chosen, the GOP elite proceeded to trash them! I also blame Rove and all those who gave no support to the Republican Primary winners!
GOP Senator RINO’s beware! 2012 is coming!
btt
I didnt say I want Lisa to win. Im saying that, depending on the demographics of the race, you could be the second choice in the primary but be the best choice in the general. Look up game theory how it applies to elections.
For instance, lets say the following two pieces of information are true:
“a” is preferable to “b” is preferable to “c” is preferable to “a”
-and-
7 voters prefer a>b>c
6 voters prefer b>c>a
5 voters prefer c>a>b
This population would elect “a” with 7.
If “b” drops out, this would be the scenario:
7 voters prefer a>c
6 voters prefer c>a
5 voters prefer c>a
This population would elect “c” with 11.
The same population shifts its vote depending on the candidates available.
This is a conservative website, and we must stick to facts and logic and not get upset because we dont like the truth. It is possible to be better in the general than in the primary.
On the incumbent issue, Im right with you.
I never discussed that point. You asked which tea party candidates Rove supported and I supplied the data (numbers through September, more I’m sure in October).
I do doubt that Ms. O’Donnell got her clock cleaned in Delaware because Mr. Rove criticized her. I don’t think that the dems or the independents really care what Mr. Rove thinks.
Rove is on my permanent shit list, as is Cronyn and every other Republican who did not support the legitimate winners of the various Republican Primaries!
Once the Primary is over, we are supposed to pull together to elect Republicans, not pi$$ and moan about the Republican Primary winner “not being electable!”
I cannot understand — simply cannot understand — their thinking! Any Republican in office is better than any Democrat (or RINO), yet Rove et al demonstrate petty, 2nd grade petulance when “Their Candidate” loses a Primary.
Damn them to Hell!
We really do need a Conservative Party that respects the Constitution and will not eat it’s young!
When a Republican wins a primary, Republicans should support him/her in the general.
This is not 2nd grade sandbox play; this is the real deal, and if your candidate does not win, you should be big enough to stay in the game and try to win one for the Gipper!
Rove and the other “Establishment” Republicans cost We the People the US Senate and the California Governor’s race by their non-support of the Republican candidates.
What should have been and “All or nothing” Republican effort to win the whole enchilada turned into a Democrat FRenzy highlighting disaffected Republicans.
How dumb can they get?
I’ll never be a fan of Karl Rove again — he may be a smart political operative, and a very rich man, but he stepped on his whang with track shoes in this election cycle!
Likewise the other “Republican Insiders” who did not support the ticket!
Shame on them — and the really, really sad thing is; They will not suffer the slings and barbs of the Democrat Senate and Democrat California! They are insulated FRom the vicissitudes of “normal Americans,” and can slither through the coming inflationary recession/depression without being dislocated too much.
The rest of us will have to suffer for their failure to work their butts off to ensure a Republican sweep of the House and Senate.
When the next election cycle comes around, Damn Straight I’ll Remember!
Best you admit that she would have done much, much better if the Republican establishment would have helped her!
“Establishment” Republicans turned their back on Ms. O’Donnell when they should have helped her in every way they could — she would have won if the effort Rove et al made to diminish her had instead been directed positively into her campaign.
I have permanently lost respect for all those Republicans who did not support her and the other Republican Primary winners.
One day, perhaps, we Republicans will learn to set our differences aside and pull together to win elections!
Until then, We the People will have to suffer the slings and barbs of outrageous Progressive governance!
Be very carefule, Progressive Republicans! Your time is at hand!
The least the establishment Republicans like Rove, et al, could've done was keep their mouths shut and respected the choice of the primary voters.
I voted for McCain, dammit! They should give as good as they get.
This is nothing new, though. The Rockefeller wing worked against Goldwater in 1964.
Raider Sam: “It is possible to be better in the general than in the primary.”
I don’t disagree, but since we’re conservatives, we should be about trying to get conservatives elected, not simply about winning elections. Granted, we need to win, too. But let’s be clear about what “winning” means to conservatives. Winning means reigning in government. If we win the election with candidates who oppose our goals, we lose either way. In that case, I think it’s better to take a chance on the long shot. O’Donnell is an excellent case in point. Despite what Rove said, her loss wasn’t 100% guaranteed. Stranger things have happened in politics. On the other hand, we can be 100% certain that Mike Castle was going to be Mike Castle. In other words, he was going to work at cross purposes to our #1 goal (reigning in government), just like he had time and time before.
“They deserve their minority status.”
The problem is, We the People have to pay (and suffer Democrat Rule) every day for their foolishness!
They don’t suffer at all — after all, they are US Senators!
I am, as you may have noticed, more that spitting mad at “Establishment” Republicans!
Dumb and Dumber!
Stupid is as Stupid does?
RINOS are so such LOSERS!
I blame Rove too!!!
I agree. In fact, it is the DUTY of the republican leadership to provide guidance and support to the primary winner (unless that winner is a liberal, of course). Rove's commentary should have been made directly to O'Donnell, in private. I realize that he is not supposed to be a Republican official any more, but he should still have chosen a reconciliatory path. His actions were obviously designed to undermine the conservative movement that seeks to save the republican party and this country. He is NOT a conservative.
COD was the poster child boogeyman that Democrats loved to talk about as a way to demonize Republicans as a whole. "Vote for a Republican, and nutters like her will be running the country." Democrats I spoke/debated with prior to the election loved talking about her, and it wasn't because of anything Rove said. It was because of her.
I'd probably agree that Rove went too far, but I completely understand the desire to distinguish the party as a whole from the attractive, but otherwise sorely lacking, COD.
keepitreal: “I dont think that the dems or the independents really care what Mr. Rove thinks.”
It’s not just Rove. First off, whether he hurt her or not, he certainly didn’t help her. That, by itself, was wrong. Secondly, you need to ask yourself how voters get to “know” a candidate. For example, I have never met O’Donnell. All I know about her is what I learned through the media. I’m sure I’m not alone, even among people living in Delaware. So Rove helped paint a negative picture of O’Donnell that was eagerly adopted by an MSM. Keep in mind the MSM already despises and/or ridicules conservatives.
The first time I heard about O’Donnell, I thought she was a nut job. However, other FReepers thought highly of her, so I tried to learn more. My current assessment: she’s a political neophyte with a quirky personality, a good heart, and solid conservative values. How many voters in Delaware took the time to give her a fair hearing? How many more received their info exclusively from the one-sided, traditional media?
So no, the left doesn’t care about Rove, but he was complicit in helping the media destroy her.
As noted, I am soooooooooo disappointed!
Had these Republican “Establishment” fools worked together to elect the Republican Senate Primary winners (and the CA governor!), Dingy Harry would be a lame duck, and the Republicans would be in total control of the Legislative Branch!
And, We the People would not have to bail out California and New York! (You know we are going to to bail out those tax and spend, spend, spend LIEberals in CA and NY, don’t you?)
Those Republican “Establishment” bozos are a bunch of Dumbasses IMHO!
Glad I supported individual candidates and Club for Growth Candidates — RNC, NRCC and NRSC got a few bux, but the majority of my financial support was directed to the candidate or to CFG.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.