Posted on 01/23/2013 8:16:19 AM PST by SeekAndFind
While the usual wishful thinking about the Tea Party's demise is being bantered about in the left-wing blogosphere, one of our own -- California Republican political consultant Tony Quinn -- recently joined the chorus of prognosticators. His premise is that because the Tea Party fielded "idiot" candidates like Angle and O'Donnell in 2010 and Akin and Mourdock in 2012, Republicans lost the Senate, and their strident calls for fiscal sanity, limited government, and lower taxes caused all manner of mayhem for Boehner in the House, ultimately empowering Obama and the Democrats.
Support for Christine O'Donnell was misplaced, even though her opponent, Mike Castle, did not vote with Republicans 100% of the time. His seat was a guaranteed win that we needed. If Republicans and the grassroots had any kind of unified strategy or means of communication, the Delaware senate seat would have been a strategic gain even if it wasn't a principled one.
This battle between candidates whose conservative principles jive 100% with the Tea Party and those who have some differences but could win their liberal states is nothing new. Some of us hold tight to our conservative principles but recognize the importance of strategic alliances to gain a seat in a liberal district -- there's no sense riding your principles over the cliff. Others don't, and so we often find ourselves at odds in primaries.
Tea Party and Republican support for Todd Akin and Mourdock plunged after their absurd remarks (even though they remained on the ticket). But Akin was no more a Tea Party candidate than his primary competitors. He won because of a three-way conservative race that split the votes.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
2014 targets on the republican side: McConnell, Cornyn, Cochrane, Chambliss, Collins, Alexander, Enzi, Graham. Oh and Boenher and Cantor and any other worthless House member.
On the democratic side: Rockefeller’s seat, Begich, Hagen, Levin’s seat if he retires, Shaheen, Johnson, Landrieu, Pryor, Franken, and go after Warner in VA. Oh, and every possible democrat in the House.
The problem is the majority of the public is not particularly conservative. This is not the 1950's where there was a population of patriotic Americans that could be prodded to do the right thing when the chips were down. This is 2013 America where Hispanics of Mexican heritage are the fastest growing voter demographic and they support leftist policies (there is a reason the socialist PRI was in power for 75 years in Mexico). We are quickly becoming a center left country that wants to go down the road of European secular socialism.
We're just not going to get really pure conservatives in many states, it just isn't going to happen. In some places you can pull that off, but in others we are going to have to settle for less than perfect candidates that can win. As the article points out, supporting ding bats like O'Donnell was a mistake. The Tea Party needs to support the most conservative candidate that CAN win a general election.
....See increase in influence of the red states to grow.
Look at red states getting stronger.
Always lost in the mix is the fact that once the candidates won the primary to represent the Republican Party in the general election, the Party apparatus refused to support them. THAT is why they lost. They took their ball and went home.
“grain of salt” alert. in my experience (going back to the beginning of the tea party in the bay area) this woman is a publicity seeking, clickish san francisco bay area “conservative” wanna be. no influence, following or agreement from me or any of my conservative or tea party friends in this area.
LOL, your agenda sucks.
His competitors were the tea party candidates, not Akin. Akin was Bachmann's choice, while Palin and the tea party express supported the female challenger.
So why is Akin being used as a smear against the tea party, the tea party did NOT support Akin in the primary?
The GOPe on the otherhand has actually supported candidates AGAINST the GOP nominee when needed to, for instance to keep Palin from knocking off Murkowski in her Independent run for the Senate, after losing the primary.
ansel, I remember reading some of your various comments here on FR and, quite frankly, you're not bright enough to understand a good agenda from a bad one. The article makes my point pretty clearly:
Support for Christine O'Donnell was misplaced, even though her opponent, Mike Castle, did not vote with Republicans 100% of the time. His seat was a guaranteed win that we needed.
Nominating joke candidates like Christine O' Donnell is stupid. She was a dingbat with no chance to win at all. She's a halfwit that wasn't even worth going to bat for.
I never saw Bachmann as supporting Akin. Geesh, where do you come up with that stuff?
Bachmann is under fire for trying to point out to Americans how Islam is in the power structure of DC. Is Sarah doing that?
Get your head out of your posterior.
Bachmann endorsed Akin during the primary.
BACHMANN: “I am proud to endorse Congressman Akin in his bid for the US Senate. I’ve known Todd for years and worked well with him in the House. He’s a principled conservative and will make a great United States Senator.”
“Geesh, where do you come up with that stuff?”
“Get your head out of your posterior.”
Quite frankly, your troll posting of constantly trying to move the agenda left, is the sign of a guy with a sick/liberal agenda.
You have a single theme, as displayed on this thread, to counter conservatism, to constantly strive to move the GOP to the left.
ansel, you’re just sort of dense - it’s just really evident in your posts. I mean, I kind of feel bad for you because I’m sure your heart is in the right place, but you really might want to listen/read more and talk/post less. You obviously have almost no understanding of political tactics and strategy, and seem to believe that just shouting the most conservative sounding things you can think of somehow translates into a winning path forward. This isn’t complicated stuff here, I’m simply echoing the Buckley rule after all: “Nominate the most conservative candidate who is electable.” Goofballs like Christine O’ Donnell do not fall into that category and aren’t even worth losing with to make some bigger point.
Are you in this massive crowd?
RE: Look at red states getting stronger.
By red states, which ones are you referring to?
Florida, Colorado, New Hampshire ( remember, Live Free or Die?), and Virginia used to be Red States.
Look where they went in 2012...
Indiana was a red state, but one remark (yes JUST ONE REMARK) by Richard Murdock destroyed his chances of winning.
One freaking abortion remark and ALL OTHER POLICIES -— The debt, taxes, the economy, a strong military, etc. just got ignored.
Are they really getting redder?
Your posts are sounding more oily and creepy and personal in tone, for a troll that is to be expected.
Your agenda is to fight the tide of conservatism, to try and convert freepers to a more liberal, a more rino preference, to block conservative ascendancy.
Cruz, Rand, Rubio, Toomey, and more, and you guys still struggle to push the Specters and Romneys onto America.
You have a single minded agenda, to counter conservative progress.
This was a rino destroyed election, with no leader at the top except for a democrat posing as a republican, the party in disarray and confused, even baffled that the GOP presidential candidate was the creator of Obama care, was for homosexual Boy Scout leaders, a homosexual military, and was running pro-abortion TV ads in Virginia and Ohio.
In an election against Jimmy Carter’s second term, the rinos not only caused an historic disaster, but may have even broken the GOP, the verdict is not in on that yet.
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