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 ...
It’s over. Turn out the lights at the RNC, lock the doors, and throw away the keys.
Yeah, right! That's worked out quite well for ya over the past two Presidential elections!
Dumbasses-R-US
Here's your problem. conservatives are NOT going to ever take it over because there are way too many rinos. The moderates will destroy whatever gains conservative make. It ALWAYS been this way. Conservatives need to start their own party and move on! republicans can GFT!
FGS, abandon that Titanic!
Exactly! The republican party NEEDS to be "destroyed" because it's so flawed now! Dumbass republicans who insist on going down the same road are just complete numbskulls at this point!
This is a very real problem I have with FR, I see a whole bunch of people who are eager to "follow the leader" right off the cliff. That, too, is human nature.
Do you understand math? This is a matter of the math must add up to over 50% and it will not happen with another watered-down party.
May I ask a question?
If, as you suggest, it is impossible for conservatives to defeat the rinos in the GOP-e, how would it then be possible for a conservative 3rd party to defeat both the rinos and Democrats?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?
Telling the Republicans to GFT punishes the Republicans and may be gratifying...to a degree. But does it improve the odds of electing a conservative?
I don't care about a new party all I know and everyone else knows but you and some straggler conservatives, is the republican party is useless. If you don't see it by now you never will. So, support the losers and end up in the next four years with the same exact results as you have now!
Who cares whether republicans win?! Do you understand insanity? How long are you going to follow power hungry rino's getting the SAME results year after year, decade after decade?
I've concluded republicans SUCK and I have a feeling I'm in the majority with many other conservatives with these same feelings!
Are you watching FOX now? The Republicans HAVE stood on principle and it's time to thank them rather than condemning them.
The Republicans have pushed this right back where it belongs--in the lap of Obama and the RATS.
The Republicans also trying to get to the bottom of Benghazi.
I am extremely disappointed at what I see here on FR. This is the perfect example of a herd mentality. I feel sorry for you, and others like you here on FR who are so blinded you can't see there is a team on your side who is trying to do the very things you want done.
FR is far more anti-Republican than anti-Democrat. That is wrong.
Waste your vote on Tom Hoefling, that will cure everything.
No! However, it is time to move away from the loser republican party. I said in years past to Fight, but it's obvious there is no way to win over the moderate faction of the party.
I would rather go fight with conservative principals and LOSE than to give in and relinquish my princilpal and still LOSE with the rino/moderate republicans!
I just saw Barack HUSSEIN Obama on TV. This man is evil, self righteous, obnoxious, devious and there are not adequate words to describe him, yet you spend your time despising Republicans. It’s time to get real about trying to stop one of the most evil men on the planet and you’re willing to ignore him.
Y'know what that's called?
Losing.
Perhaps. Doesn’t change the truth of what I said.
I despise Barack HUSSEIN Obama the way people here on FR despise Republicans.
Yes, please enlighten me on the last two presidential elections how "I" am wrong and "I" am destroying hope????
It's time to move on...from losers!! That is encouraging hope!
The rest of your post is so FOS I can't even begin to wonder how you can think of such tripe! But this is the mindset of republicans these days.
The "TEAM" is conservative, NOT PROVEN loser republicans.
What truth that you said? You’re a fraud and a phony and you’re full of yourself.
Why don’t you use your hostility on Obama and the RATS? The truth is you hate everyone, it doesn’t matter if it’s the Republicans or Democrats. How do you get up in the morning?
Losing.
Ah, no! It's called standing on PRINCIPAL. It's called doing the RIGHT thing and not caving in! You're confusing it with the last two presidential elections where republicans lost because of their insistence on pushing idiot rinos!
Go ahead keep voting for republicans, give up your principles and ride that rino wave to nowhere!
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