Top Republican: GOP Establishment Won’t Get Involved In Primaries
A pretty fascinating bit of fallout from the GOP’s intra-party war over New York’s 23rd.
The GOP official in charge of Senate races is now pledging not to get involved in primaries, in what may be an effort to placate conservative grassroots anger — and an acknowledgment of its potency.
“We will not spend money in a contested primary,” Senator John Cornyn, the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told ABC News.
“There’s no incentive for us to weigh in,” he added. “We’re not going to throw money into a [primary] race leading up to the election.”
Cornyn recognizes that the stamp of the GOP establishment can be a negative for a candidate in a primary against the newly emboldened Palin wing of the party. And his pledge is a striking nod to its growing power.
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Update: A GOP official emails clarification: “The fact that the NRSC doesn’t intend to use scarce campaign funds to attack fellow Republicans shouldn’t surprise anyone. They’ve never said that they would.”
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Maybe not openly. But you can bet campaign contribution bundlers will be directed where to make donations rather than to the generic NRCC fund.
Word on the street – The Teabagger/Palinista wing of the Republican party is now targeting the California Senatoral primary campaign where they see the front runner as not conservative enough. I wonder how Barbara feels about a campaign opponent who would be running a far-right general election campaign. Florida’s Charlie Crist seems to be off the ledger for now! -Kevo
Hello moderate Republicans, meet my friend The Bus.
I guess Fiorina isn’t right wing enough for them. She’s pro-choice right?
This will probably haunt her.
“A real, live example, which I’ve been hearing a lot about from women: There are many health insurance plans that will cover Viagra but won’t cover birth-control medication. Those women would like a choice,” Fiorina during GE campaign. Remember that one?
I have heard it described as “a civil war within the Republican Party, between Right Wingers and Moderates”. I think that is absurd. Right Wingers dominate the Republican Party, and they are just hunting down the few remaining Moderates. There are not enough of them left, to engage in a civil war. They are more like those few Japanse soldiers, who did not get the word, that Japan had surrendered.
Knocking out the moderate is not something new. Back in 2000 the Republicans knocked all the moderates in the California Governor’s race and we were left with Dem. Gray Davis and that nut from New York, Simon (I think that was his name.) I didn’t want to vote for Davis…but Simon was a REAL nut.
When Davis wins, the Republicans (Issa) petitioned for a recall–you remember this. All they had to do was let a moderate run.
Then the Rep. John Doolittle’s 4th congressional District seat in California in 2008. We had Rep. Doug Ose — a moderate — against ‘Far right’ conservative Tom McClintock. Again I didn’t want to vote for the Democrat (who lost) but McClintock is a squirrel case–and I’ve not been wrong. The hard core Republicans in this district are fed up with him already.
If these stupid Republican’s ever figure out that putting in nuts like these guys pushes away moderate voters, the democrats would finally have a real challenge in the polls.
This is nuts.
“Cornyn recognizes that the stamp of the GOP establishment can be a negative for a candidate in a primary against the newly emboldened Palin wing of the party. And his pledge is a striking nod to its growing power.”
I think he is also doing what is right. Many folks here have gotten upset with the Dem establishment for throwing their endorsement behind someone in the primaries (Sestak/Specter, Lieberman/Lamont). There was a time not so long ago when the party establishment would never endorse a primary candidate.
I don’t think Fiorina has much of a chance – not much to lose by pitting a far right challenger against her.
Being hit by a mythical teabag seems to hurt even less than being hit by a real one. These people are the left-behinds of our society and they want to ascend. This has actually happened in the past, particularly in Germany of the 30s. But despite their denial of what just happened to their all out effort here, they haven’t gained any real power.
It’s no surprise Cornyn isn’t opposing that wing – he’s part of it.
Sounds like Cornyn and the GOP leadership don’t want to decide which candidates run for the GOP ticket. If they did they might have to choose between a Newt-Repub. or a Palin-Repub, or a Beck-Repub. or even a Cheney-Repub.
@JMC
I am not as sanguine about it, as you are. It took a while for it to flourish in Germany, and the ruined economy became the fertile seed bed, which allowed fascism to blossom and grow.
Good paying manufacturing jobs are gone, so this will be a jobless recovery.(Which is an Oxymoron) Prolonged hard times are when those with no hope left, flock to a Demagogue with all the easy answers.
Perhaps what we witnessed, in the lead up to election day in NY23, was a harbinger of things to come, especially The Night Of The Long Knives.
It is all starting to look far to familiar.
O Liam – boy you are easily discouraged.
We picked up two House seats, Liam. We lost two governors – governors don’t mean s*h*i*t nationally.
“governors don’t mean s*h*i*t nationally.”
PO opt out?
Governors wield tremendous power and can have far-reaching influence on any number of federal issues and races.
We lost two governors for reasons far outside party affiliation. Virginia apparently likes them polished. Creigh Deeds, not so much, and Terry McAuliffe is thinking of letting VA Dem primary voters see the error of their ways in 4 years.
Corzine was proFOUNDly unpopular, and anyone I know who voted for him did so because he was their Lesser Of Two Evils, and because they support Obama. I said here last night it had very little to do with his Goldman money, NJ is crawling with Goldman employees and other unrepentant WS fat cats, and they all voted for Christie because of pocketbook issues. Property taxes are outrageous, corruption is endemic and school spending is out of control, especially in urban areas (e.g., $37K avg. per student per year in Asbury Park.).
In my book, Christie is a breath of fresh creep, and they’re no better off.
By the time the health care bill and the PO come into effect, McDonnell and Christie will be on their way out the door.
Tena,
Losing State Houses in two larger states is significant, no matter how many times you stick your fingers in your ears and go la la la.
Redistricting is a big issue, that Governors have a lot of influnce over, plus they get to control how much is spent on safety net programs for children, and the poor in general. That will hurt a lot of out of work people in those two large states.
I would trade those two congressional seats, for those two Governorships. Those two congressional seats will have to begin all over, starting now, since they will be voted on again, in just one year.
Isn’t Christie about ready to get slapped with a bunch of lawsuits due to abuse of power?
Nice way to start a Governorship.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091104/ap_on_re_eu/eu_italy_cia_trial
“MILAN – An Italian judge on Wednesday convicted 23 Americans in absentia of the 2003 kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric from a Milan street, in a landmark case involving the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program in the war on terrorism.
Citing diplomatic immunity, Judge Oscar Magi told the Milan courtroom Wednesday that he was acquitting three other Americans.
Former Milan CIA station chief, Robert Seldon Lady, received eight years in prison. The other 22 convicted American defendants each received a five-year sentence.
The Americans, all but one identified by prosecutors as CIA agents, were tried in absentia as subsequent Italian governments refused or ignored prosecutors’ extradition request.”
Knocking out the moderate is not something new.
Thanks much for the refresher history on CA politics! You’ve reminded me that some of the country’s most extreme wingnuts come from CA and this has been true for decades.
You are what you eat.
“The fact that the NRSC doesn’t intend to use scarce campaign funds to attack fellow Republicans shouldn’t surprise anyone.”
This statement pretty much sums up the whole Republican attitude toward politics. Their idea is that politics is purely attacking your opponent. The idea that maybe a candidate should emphasize his/her own ability just never occurs to them. The idea that a politician should do something positive just never occurs to them. Why?
“so this will be a jobless recovery.”
Just like the last one. But talking about the rise of fascism, we saw that starting eight years ago. The book that Naomi Wolf wrote about what constitutes fascism is a case history of the Cheney/Bush administration, and they left enough of their acolytes scattered though out government, especially the DOD, the judiciary and the DoJ, to continue the program on the sly. Obama continuing their illegal surveillance and other illegal programs and support for corporate takeover of government (”The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it comes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism – ownership of government by an individual, by a group,” : Franklin D. Roosevelt) doesn’t bode well for the future of this country as a democracy.