Tea party voters could dump Mitch McConnell just by staying home

latimes.com ^ | 8/28/14 | David Horsey

[cotton1706]

he dilemma facing the true grass-roots tea party believers -- the dilemma they do not acknowledge -- is that their primary goal of whittling and whacking away at big government undercuts their secondary goal of saving the middle class from the greedy grip of big corporations..

If Democrats have a unifying philosophy, it is that government needs to be effective enough to curtail the economic and environmental abuses of unfettered capitalism. Republicans, on the other hand, preach the dogma that smaller government and unrestricted corporate power serves the best interests of the common man and woman.

The tea party folks have largely bought into that belief, but still are uncomfortable with Republicans who appear to be too much in thrall to big business. That is partly why a big tea party effort was mounted against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky’s Republican primary. McConnell was rightly seen as the epitome of the GOP establishment that the tea partiers so disdain. Yet, even with major support from national tea party organizations, such as FreedomWorks and the Senate Conservatives Fund, challenger Matt Bevin could not depose the incumbent senator.

Now McConnell faces a robust challenge from Kentucky’s Democratic secretary of state, Alison Lundergan Grimes, who, at age 35, has been alive exactly as long as McConnell has been in the U.S. Senate. Polls show Grimes is in striking distance of beating the old veteran.

[DiogenesLamp]

I reject your premise. The actions of a single issue lobbying group do not easily translate to political control among the two major parties.

The methodology works regardless of what issue triggers it. The Tea Party is *NOT* a majority. It is at best a Plurality, and most likely a minority. The only means by which a minority can control the outcome is by playing one side against they other, or have you ever heard of the "Gang of Eight"?

You get what you want by giving both sides reasons to fear you.

A young Democrat elected to the Senate will still be in office when you and I die, and he will never stray from the Democrat agenda.

That is a non sequitur. You are letting your FEAR speak rather than your mind. Grimes cannot win a second term. She is too far out there. Right now her only useful purpose is in helping us destroy a vicious traitor.

[centurion316]

Grimes cannot win a second term. She is too far out there. Right now her only useful purpose is in helping us destroy a vicious traitor.

Not much of a plan. In the last 10 years, only 7 Senators have failed to win a second term, and 3 of those resigned their office. The last U.S. Senator from Kentucky to serve only one term was Marlow Cook R-KY who served 1968 - 1974, the Watergate years. Kentucky seems to like to keep 'em.

[bert]

I don’t object to anti GOPe comments

[srmorton]

Romney was not my first choice either, but those who voted in the primary gave him the majority of the votes. One thing that would help is for the Republicans to make sure that Democrats are unable to vote in the primary and thus influence who the nominee will be. I am far from GOPe, but I have NO patience with those who don’t see that Romney would have made a MUCH better POTUS than a man who has destroyed the best health care system in the world, has allowed hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants into the US, has weakened our foreign policy to the point that radical Muslims do not fear the consequences of beheading an American citizen, has run roughshod over the Constitution, and has set US race relations back 50 years. I am 64 years old and never thought I would live to see what is going on in the United States and the rest of the world today. I also get impatient with the Republicans for letting Obama get away with it, but I do not see how electing more Democrats will help the situation whatsoever.

[JAKraig]

These arguments are nonsense.

How does having a Democratic Majority in the Senate help the TEA Party?

It doesn't.

We can help the TEA Party by getting control of the Senate where they will have some power and some influence.

Yes, RINO’s hate the TEA Party. Yes I hate RINO’s, Yes I hate Democrats more.

[morphing libertarian]

So the best way to support conservative positions is to vote for moderates who fight the tea party and support deme in the senate

Insane

[JAKraig]

So the best way to support conservative positions is to vote for moderates who fight the tea party and support deme in the senate

Insane

________________________________________________________

So you believe that the best way to support conservatives is to vote for liberal Democrats? Now to me that is insane.

[HamiltonJay]

Wishful thinking by the left and by hard right... Like it or not Mitch easily and handily dispatched a 3rd or 4th tier candidate, and is cruising to re-election.

The tea party couldn’t win a primary, they sure aren’t going to cost anyone a general election in this race.

Don’t have to like it, but that’s the tea leaves.

[GeronL]

He isn’t a conservative and he doesn’t need conservative votes to win I guess

[DiogenesLamp]

How does having a Democratic Majority in the Senate help the TEA Party?

You are stuck on that? The idea that there are WORSE things than a Democrat Majority just don't occur to you?

Do you know what is WORSE than a Democrat Majority? NEVER HAVING A HOPE OF CHANGING IT.

Do you know what our one hope of changing it is? It's the Tea Party. You let that ship sink, and nothing else will matter.

You let that Traitor Mitch McConnell get away with running those racist attack ads against McDaniel in Mississippi, and in two years it will be racist attack ads against every Tea Party Candidate everywhere.

You want to win a battle and lose the whole war. You are Penny wise, and Dollar foolish.

[DiogenesLamp]

So you believe that the best way to support conservatives is to vote for liberal Democrats? Now to me that is insane.

That's because some of us are playing Chess while others of us are playing tiddlywinks. You sir, are playing tiddly winks. You simply do not grasp just how great a threat it is to our movement if we let someone get away with running RACIST attack ads against us.

You are looking at this situation in a shallow and superficial manner. You aren't cognizant of the fact that this weapon will be used against our side again and again if it is seen to have worked without consequences.

Our only hope of stopping these sort of attacks against us is by making someone pay who orchestrated them.

[morphing libertarian]

I have never voted for a liberal democrat. Where did you make up that idea.

When you’re tired of butting your head against the wall voting for moderates who oppose what you beieve in, let us know.

[HamiltonJay]

However you want to play sour grapes, simple fact is, he’s going to win this race handily... Tea Party put up a dud, that was easily dispatched.

Seriously, when your main guy is putting out ads talking about how the guy he wants to replace looks like a turtle he’s basically not someone who will ever be taken seriously.

Change doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t happen easily, sooner folks realize this, and stop this all or nothing adolescent mentality the sooner the hard work can get done and change can happen.

[GeronL]

The liberal RINO’s are the ones with the all-or nothing mentality. The ones who declare war on conservatives, using their office to defund candidates of their own party to make them lose to Democrats.

I will never vote for people like that.

[HamiltonJay]

Again, CHANGE isn’t easy... doesn’t matter who is in power, if you think the tea party controlled the RNC purse strings they wouldn’t defund someone they thought was too moderate?

That’s the reality of the world my friend, those in power are not going to go without a fight.

If you are just going to bitch about the fight, just stay home, because frankly you aren’t bringing anything to the table.

I don’t care what it is, change is always a battle between those in control and those who want to be in control, and NEVER do those in control not use every resource they control to retain it.

This is the way of the world, and to complain about it is childish. Change has to be fought for.

[GeronL]

It’s a fight.

I won’t vote for them.

Period.

[Din Maker]

Well, an Indy has entered the SC Senate Race (Thomas Ravenel) as I’m sure you know. He’s giving Graham fits and could throw the election to the Dem candidate; Hutto.

[Din Maker]

Tea party voters could dump Mitch McConnell just by staying home.

And this is exactly what they should do. On second thought, they SHOULD vote, and they should vote for the Democrat.

It is far more important to teach this man (and the rest of the establishment as well) a lesson for having declared war on us (and paying for those racist ads used in Mississippi) than it is to have just one more RINO incumbent at war with us in the Senate.

In this particular race, the Tea Party needs to project some power, and the only way to do this is to vote for the Democrat.

Yes, the Democrat is an enemy, but McConnell is a traitor, and traitors have a higher priority than enemies. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ HELL YES! I just felt like what you had to say was worth repeating.

[Din Maker]

I want Harry Reid fired more than I want Mitch retired...
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Oh Really? Let me ask you this: If you had a next door neighbor who “claimed” to be your family’s friend, but he was molesting your children..... WHO would you want put away; him or the guy across the street who is a Liberal Democrat?

[Din Maker]

We need to make them understand that *WE* will run this show, or *WE* will burn you down. You mess with us, and we will cut off your head. *THAT* is how you get respect in politics. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ EXACTLY! That's why I hope to goodness that every true Conservative in Mississippi will write-in Chris McDaniel (even tho write-in votes are not counted in MS.) and let the world know that the reason Thad Cochran and Haley Barbour got their butts handed to them was because they are nefarious traitors to the Conservative Cause and common decency; therefore rendering the McDanile write-in "votes" profitable to the Cause; not wasted. OR BETTER YET.............. Vote for the Conservative Dem who is running against Cochran; Travis Childers. He is Pro-Life, Pro-Second Amendment and ANTI-same sex marriage. Let about 100,000 true Conservatives choose either option above and follow through, Cochran and Barbour will be crapping down both legs on Election night.