Republican primary voters throw away too many seats on bad candidates. Candidates that either have no chance to win, or are liable to self-destruct. Christine O'Donnell, Sharon Angle, Todd Akin, etc, were all rotten candidates that should never have been nominated. Heck this isn't just a statewide Senate thing either. Supposedly conservative values voters in South Carolina 1 just marched off to the polls and nominated that lying tool Mark Sanford for the upcoming special election. That can't be blamed on the "establishment" either, they weren't backing him. In fact, some people are now complaining that the RNC should have stepped in to the primary to help make sure he wasn't nominated by the voters. So the national party is damned if they do, damned if they don't.
We need to be nominating the most conservative candidate that CAN win. Deeply flawed joke candidates like O'Donnell should never, ever be nominated. Even if every Republican had dutifully lined up behind O'Donnell (which I might add, she didn't do when she ran an write-in campaign years earlier) she'd have had NO chance to win in Delaware.
You make some good points, but I think you’re tarring some good people in your generalization. O’Donnell is far more impressive than given credit for, and it literally would have been a disaster to nominate Castle - since he was nothing more than a Specter or Jeffords or Crist in the making. And you make some valid points on Sanford - who is a sad case.
I asked friends of mine in SC why people support him, and they all say he is very likeable, dynamic, and happens to be able and willing to take on liberalism fearlessly - something we need badly. Too bad he is so bizarre and has tried to revive his career way too soon.
Sharon Angle did not ‘self-destruct’. She was a good conservative facing an uphill battle. Do you think some mealy mouthed Republican would have defeated Reid? The man has the most effective GOTV network there is with the culinary unions.
Akin was NOT the ‘conservative’ choice. He was up to his eyeballs in earmarks, and was backed by McCatskull in the primary!
O’Donnell, again, was in an uphill battle. Do you realize how blue that state is? She was a strong conservative against the UNACCEPTABLE abortionist Castle. She made some stupid comment about witches years ago, and responded badly when it was brought up, but in the end, she was unlikely to win in the first place.
Sanford won his primary because he’s a good salesman. I wouldn’t have voted for him, but the people of that district made a judgement call. He hasn’t lost yet either, so I’m not sure why you’re complaining now.
The RNC, Rove, Priebus, are corrupt low-lifes. They backed Crist. You trust them to decide which candidates “can win”? Well, you just remember Rehberg, McMahon, Allen, and Berg. These people are idiots. WE won the House in 2010. All Karl Rove has done is lose us the presidency TWICE.
“We need to be nominating the most conservative candidate that CAN win.”
Best post on this thread! Could not agree with you more. The Sheeple need to start doing their jobs too. I used to be involved in Conservative Politics here in CA with the CRA. When I was involved, you always had to be fendng off the local nutball candidate trying to get backing for his or her run. One of the major problems was centered around “religious groups” becoming major voting blocs in the CRA to facilitate “their candidates.” Personally, I find a Born Again Christian almost as much of a problem as a Muzzie. Neither should be allowed to bring their particular “theology” into the publc discourse. The vetting process needs serious improvement to avoid the Akins, Mourdocks, O’Donnells and Angles. Those people represent four Senate seats that we should now occupy. Somehow it needs to be impressed on the would be candidates that it isn’t about them, it’s about us.