“Chris Matthews....said the Republicans like Haley Barbour are calling up Steele and begging him to get Sarah Palin off their backs.”
I think CM, as usual, has gotten so engrossed in his own high drama that he totally has missed the point and is now at the point of misquoting people. There are certain blue or purple areas where Sarah doesn’t sell particularly well. In these areas where voters are leaning our way, it’s better not to run the risk of polarization. At this point we’re not trying to irritate them. We just want them to vote for our candidates.
That being said, I think there are certain RINOs (I wouldn’t put Barbour in that category) who would like to go back to the old days where the voters weren’t paying attention and they could do as they pleased. They really resent us for stepping in and supervising their work.
Those RINOs should get the message that, as in just about any other job, if you do the right thing, you will find that you don’t have a supervisor breathing down your neck. And if they’re unhappy with their job description, we’ll just have to show them the door.
I agree with your summary about the RINOS and feel that you too have a feel for how these nicely entrenched fellows resent our looking over their shoulders.
As for Barbour...well no, I don’t consider him a RINO. And I’d certainly not put it past Matthews to misquore or outright lie, or hey, maybe someone else fed him a lie.
Could be a feint, could be the truth. I just thought it to be an intriguing statement flying under the radar.