Posted on 08/04/2014 5:06:45 AM PDT by cotton1706
The Senate minority leader, long reviled among many on the right for what they see as kowtowing to Democrats, is in a tough race for his seat—and in trouble with the Tea Party.
If Alison Lundergan Grimes pulls off an upset victory over Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in November, she may have Tea Partiers to thank. But don’t expect conservative voters to rally to Grimes—they simply aren't getting behind McConnell.
Although the five-term Republican ended up winning a a tough primary challenge from businessman Matt Bevin handily, the race was one of the most vicious and ugly this cycle, with Bevin’s campaign badly damaged in a cockfighting scandal. And while some disaffected conservatives have backed McConnell in November, Bevin has still not endorsed him, and many of the Tea Party groups that supported the businessman are following suit. As a result, in a recent poll, nearly 20% of self-identified Republicans didn't support McConnell.
Scott Hofstra, spokesman for the United Kentucky Tea Party, said he isn’t backing McConnell and “taking the lesser of the two evils approach.” Many conservatives, Hofstra predicted, either will leave the box on the ballot for U.S. Senate empty or will vote for David Patterson, the libertarian candidate. The senator has alienated many Tea Partiers and has yet to reach out to bridge the gap, Hofstra said. The divide was opened further, he added, by McConnell’s open support for Thad Cochran in the Mississippi Senate runoff and McConnell’s association with pro-Cochran ads that many conservatives assailed as race-baiting. “If there were some people on the fence after what happened in Kentucky, the Mississippi incident really put them over the edge,” Hofstra said. Still, he noted that Tea Party dissatisfaction with McConnell wasn’t winning Grimes their votes. “I haven’t talked to anybody who would vote her.”
(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...
I also support McDaniel in Mississippi.
But you’d support a vote for Cochran, right?
If you support the ones who backstabbed McDaniel you do NOT support McDaniel.
I’d only be clueless if I believed anything you’ve got to say.
Just like the “purity” argument? Re-electing those that caused the problem is no way to solve the problem. I just made that up. Happy now?
Romney punted on the last two debates when he had Obama on the ropes. Romney’s got his own encyclopedia of stupid things that he said.
It’s ok when the “progressive” wing of the GOP does it.
Romney lost. I am over that. I will make the next best decision. Seems Kentucky folks want to cling to the cockfighting loser candidate. Time to move on from him.
But you’d support a vote for Cochran, right?
Honestly, that’s a tough one for me. I despise Thad and what they did to McDaniel.
Yeah, I know there are some blurred lines but 6 years of Allison Grimes in the senate would be very bad for the USA.
Thad would sort of be like a useless vegetable in the senate.
Haley Barbour can choke on his fat as far as I am concerned.
It’s like this for me. I want Carr to beat Alexander in Tennessee. If he doesn’t win, I will hold my nose and vote straight republican.
Fortunately, I live in Alabama and we’ve got two excellent senators.
I have no say in the Kentucky election....I do not live in that state.
Here in Maine, I have at least two TEA party guys to vote for....the incumbent governor, Paul LePage, and the man who is running for the open congressional seat in the 2nd district, Bruce Poliquin.
Susan Collins will win the Senate seat here in Maine.....her fourth term. During her first run for the Senate, she promised to serve for just two terms.
My representatives? I don’t live in Mississippi.
I feel your pain...Cornyn’s heading in that direction.
During her first run for the Senate, she promised to serve for just two terms.
—
Power is more important than principle to her.
That's funny, the same can be said of FreeRepublic's GOPe sycophants...
That’s funny, the same can be said of FreeRepublic’s GOPe sycophants...
I vote against the GOPe every chance I get .... that is unless they’re the only real choice is vs a DEMOCRAT.
Form your on party if you think you’ve got a chance. Otherwise, don’t complain if Obama has control of the senate the next two years.
Oh yes, they're fleeing all over the country. [snicker]
Some?
It isn't a hissy fit. McConnell declared war on the Tea Party, and he backed up his claim by funding Racist ads directed at McDaniel and the Tea Party in Mississippi.
McConnell stabbed us in the back, so there's a little bit more than a "Hissy fit" involved.
How about just not having a Traitor and Enemy agent in that Senate Seat? I can't see how the Democrat would be worse than a guy that paid for advertisements and Robo-Calls accusing the Tea Party of Racism in Mississippi.
I'd rather have an Enemy in Front of me than a Traitor behind me.
And replace him with a Nasty little man that represents our side? Why would we want to do that?
I damn sure hope so.
Maybe not but you don't seem to be using it either. We need six. Projections are suggesting we will get 14. Mitch McConnell attacked the Tea Party at a fundamental level by paying for accusations of racism in Mississippi. If this tactic produces no blow back, he will use it again in two years to further damage the Tea Party.
The Tea Party is the only group out there advocating ideas that will actually fix what is wrong with our government. There is no one else.
This backstabbing attack against it cannot be seen to have been successful, or it will become impossible to get sufficiently committed people into office in our government. Allowing McConnell to win after what he did would cost us the war.
He will not stop undermining and sabotaging the TEA Party. You will now see conservative candidates being defunded and unfunded by PACs and local, state and national GOP groups because McConnell has threatened them and said he would use his office to "punch them (TEA Party) in the nose" .
I heard that the guy who beat Cantor has seen the local GOP give away all the money designated for GOTV efforts to other out-of-area organizations.
What they did to Cucinelli is going to be happening to all the TEA Party candidates, choreographed by McConnell.
Have you ever seen Mitch work so hard against Democrats?
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