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GOP Consultants Seek to Regain Control (From Tea Party, Conservatives)
Roll Call ^ | Wednesday, December 19, 2012 | Abby Livingston

Posted on 12/19/2012 4:56:58 PM PST by kristinn

The internal battle for the direction of the Republican Party has enveloped Washington’s GOP consultant class, as pragmatic party strategists hired to win campaigns ponder how to reclaim control of the primary process from powerful conservative activist groups.

This developing conflict comes in the aftermath of consecutive election cycles that saw Republicans blow as many as five Senate races because the party nominated flawed candidates over those who were better suited to compete in the general election.

Some of these losing 2010 and 2012 nominees received crucial support from Washington-based tea party groups that made their primary campaigns viable. GOP consultants who found themselves on the losing end are considering the formation of outside groups of their own to counter these organizations and boost their favored candidates in the 2014 primaries.

“The bigger the office, the brighter the spotlight, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to elect a lousy candidate over a good candidate in any [general election] Senate race, regardless of ideology,” said a Republican strategist who is frustrated with the hold that conservative groups like the Club for Growth, FreedomWorks and the Senate Conservatives Fund have had on the GOP primary process in recent elections.

Unlike these tea-party-affiliated groups, this Republican strategist and others who think similarly (prioritizing winning over ideological purity) argue that a Republican will always be more conservative than a Democrat and the party’s objective should be to control the White House and Congress so it can set the governing agenda and prevent Democrats from enacting laws like the Affordable Care Act.

In quiet postmortem sessions, these strategists are exploring ways to influence primaries and curb the power of the tea party groups.

(Excerpt) Read more at rollcall.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: gopelite; rinos; rnc; teaparty
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To: Migraine

So Rove has a new job? What a joke. They got their Rino
Candidates the past two Presidential Elections.

I think this is more an attempt to shield the party nobles
from the chattering class. How dare we challenge their backroom deals
That stuff their pockets with cash while selling out America.


21 posted on 12/19/2012 5:45:20 PM PST by VRWCarea51
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To: Jacquerie

“Moderate pubbies like Romney win...”

Don’t forget President McCain...oh wait.

Steve Schmidt and the rest of the useless RINOs blew two presidential elections in a row. It’s time to try a full-blown conservative as the GOP nominee, and to close the primaries to RAT voters.


22 posted on 12/19/2012 6:10:48 PM PST by july4thfreedomfoundation (November 6, 2012.....A day that will live in infamy!)
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To: kristinn

Conservative’s who remain republican are just wasting their time and political capital! There is not one single solitary reason why any conservative should be a republican in this day and age.


23 posted on 12/19/2012 6:30:59 PM PST by sirchtruth (Freedom is not free.)
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To: kristinn

TEAPARTY FOREVER!...Screw the GOP Rino’s!!!


24 posted on 12/19/2012 6:37:22 PM PST by Route395
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To: sirchtruth
There is not one single solitary reason why any conservative should be a republican in this day and age.

Oh, there's one reason, for sure.

Winning.

Conservatives who abandon the Republican party are doomed to live in Loserland -- probably for the rest of their lives.

Conservatives who decide to stick it out and work to take over the Republican party from within will at least have a chance to elect conservatives two, four, six, eight, ten years from now.

25 posted on 12/19/2012 6:38:56 PM PST by okie01
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To: kristinn

These national consultants are the biggest problem in politics. Keep in mind that they get paid win or lose.


26 posted on 12/19/2012 6:39:58 PM PST by Darren McCarty (If most people were more than keyboard warriors, we might have won the election)
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To: kristinn
Since 2008, the national party seal of approval has served only to taint candidates as Washington insiders.

One would think they would learn from this.

But, nooooooooooooooooo.

The American people face two enemies:

1. Liberals

2. Washington Republicans

27 posted on 12/19/2012 6:46:31 PM PST by okie01
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To: kristinn

A single party system would be better than a future of minority RINO’s doing the bidding of majority Democrats.


28 posted on 12/19/2012 7:01:26 PM PST by pallis
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To: Jacquerie
See, only Tea Party candidates can be “flawed.”
Moderate Liberal pubbies like Romney win . . .

That is what they keep expecting us to believe election after election.

29 posted on 12/19/2012 7:19:01 PM PST by Waryone
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To: kristinn

Form the paragraph at the top of page two in the article comes this gem: “ - - - Since 2008, the national party seal of approval has served only to taint candidates as Washington insiders. - - - - “

If this is a valid observation, then the following may also be truee:

1.) the problem is with what is going on inside Washington;

2.) winning elections has had a history of turning well-meaning winners into the same old Washington insiders.


30 posted on 12/19/2012 7:22:40 PM PST by Graewoulf ((Traitor John Roberts' Communal Obama"care" violates Anti-Trust Laws, AND the U.S. Constitution.))
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To: kristinn

Old Abby is DC lib and peddles lies and Dem party faxes as a story.
Since she lives in DC and works for. Dem party front group she has never actually seen or met a republican but she was hired to
Split out Dem party pr releases about them .


31 posted on 12/19/2012 7:28:36 PM PST by ncalburt (Axelrod Psych OPS has gone to 24/7 non stop - "The election is over " status until Nov)
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To: sirchtruth
Oh, yes, there is. The Republican party is the ONLY viable vehicle to get us from point A to point B. There is no other way. This is a numbers game. We MUST have more votes than the RATS.

There is no way to splinter off and still be able to defeat RATS.

This is why we have primaries. Fight it out there but after that is over, the goal is to defeat every RAT possible.

We need majorities and that may mean accepting RINOS we'd rather not have but a RINO is better than a RAT--any day.

Forget this "third party" talk--it's destructive. We have to live in reality and I'm talking reality.

32 posted on 12/19/2012 7:30:45 PM PST by Conservativegreatgrandma
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To: okie01
Thank you for talking sense--there's far too little of it here on FR. This "third party" talk is crazy--it won't work, and it can't work. If those advocating it would just stop and THINK, they'd figure it out.

There aren't enough of any one faction to defeat both Republicans and Democrats.

33 posted on 12/19/2012 7:33:01 PM PST by Conservativegreatgrandma
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To: okie01

{Conservatives who abandon the Republican party are doomed to live in Loserland — probably for the rest of their lives.}
As opposed to the loser land we now live in. Got it.


34 posted on 12/19/2012 7:42:44 PM PST by itsahoot (Any enemy, that is allowed to have a King's X line, is undefeatable. (USS Taluga AO-62))
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To: kristinn

From early on, Communism has always strived to control the opposition.

In that light, RINO consultants are easier to understand.

Don’t forget those ‘consultants’ got the Father of Socialized Medicine (RomneyCare) passed.

Question: Who was the Father of Gay Marriage, legally speaking?

Answer Gov. Romney.


35 posted on 12/19/2012 8:09:13 PM PST by GladesGuru (In a society predicated upon freedom, it is necessary to examine principles."..)
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To: GladesGuru

Correction to previous posted version:

From early on, Communism has always worked to control the opposition.

In that light, RINO consultants are easier to understand. Think commie, but disguised.

Don’t forget those ‘consultants’ got the Father of Socialized Medicine (RomneyCare) nominated for POTUS.

Question: Who was the Father of Gay Marriage, legally speaking?

Answer: Gov. Romney.

Got ‘consultant’?


36 posted on 12/19/2012 8:12:23 PM PST by GladesGuru (In a society predicated upon freedom, it is necessary to examine principles."..)
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To: cripplecreek; Anybody; Everybody; All
If you go to I Heart Radio and rack up KSFO 560AM You'll hear Mark repeat this every hour.

I love the way this beautiful man THINKS and SPEAKS!!!

With fearless PASSION and CONVICTION and HONESTY!!!

Savage screams invectives, but Levin screams the battle cry for FREEDOM and LIBERTY!!!

37 posted on 12/19/2012 8:31:31 PM PST by SierraWasp (Blessed are they who prospect, dig & drill, for they are the primary producers of new, real wealth!!)
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To: kristinn
GOP Consultants Seek to Regain Control

As if they ever lost it.

38 posted on 12/19/2012 8:45:51 PM PST by EternalVigilance (Today's headline: 'As expected, Boehner folds.' This tag should be good for quite awhile...)
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To: kristinn

There’s so much wrong with this piece I hardly know where to start. So I’m not going to try to deal with it point by point. It’s too late at night and I’m tired.

Suffice it to say that it’s all theater. These people never lost control of anything, and the relationships between the “consultants” and what they call “powerful conservative activist groups” are as incestuous as it gets, so the whole premise of the piece is inherently flawed.

Both groups, which are really the same old group, will continue to garner all the power to themselves, and conservatives and conservatism will continue to be the losers.

As long as conservatives are willing to play their game, that is.


39 posted on 12/19/2012 9:13:06 PM PST by EternalVigilance (Today's headline: 'As expected, Boehner folds.' This tag should be good for quite awhile...)
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To: okie01
Conservatives who abandon remain in the Republican party are doomed to live in Loserland -- probably for the rest of their lives.

Fixed.

40 posted on 12/20/2012 2:21:02 AM PST by Timber Rattler (Just say NO! to RINOS and the GOP-E)
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