The thing is that a lot of these rinos build up their “80% ally” rating by voting with the party to keep up appearances when their vote won’t determine the outcome.

Buddahpundit on November 4, 2009 at 10:34 PM

Exactly correct. I call them the “55 Percenters” as long as there is overwhelming advantage either way they’ll vote Republican. As soon as it’s a very close nail biter and we need their vote, they find a reason to reach across the aisle and vote Democrat.

No Thanks!

The reason the GOP won back NJ and VA is because the candidates focused on the right message – lower taxes, less-intrusive government, and more sensible solutions. I know…I saw the VA ads for months.

My state delegate GOP candidate entered the race 47 days before the election, and won 40% of the vote. If he, like Hoffman, had had more than 2 months to campaign, I honestly think they’d have won.

If the RNC, at all levels, doesn’t learn to butt out & let voters (or at least anyone interested in joining the selection process, like VA has…anyone can go to the convention in May who applies in time) decide who they want, we’re going to continue to have this problem.

I am no longer going to hold my nose & vote…I’ve done that too many times. I now look at the candidate’s voting record, what they stand for, and what grade they get from the NRA. If they don’t have an A regarding my 2nd Amendment rights, then they DON’T get my vote. Period.

The Dems fear the conservatives more than they do the RINOs, I expect alliances like Scoza/Owens to be more common.

Jason Coleman on November 5, 2009 at 11:34 AM

So true. Soros gave to a group called the Mainstreet Republicans a few years back. His contributions are not so easily tracked these days, but I am sure he is pushing RINOs as a cost effective strategy to split the Republican Party.

The Dems fear the conservatives more than they do the RINOs, I expect alliances like Scoza/Owens to be more common.

I’m not sure how the fences end up being mended in time for a unified party-line vote in the general election. It’s hard to go from “this guy’s a scumbag RINO who’s no better than the Democrats who are destroying the country” to “this guy represents most of my interests” in a few months

Obama seemed to do okay after months of attacking Hillary – even liked her enough to put her in his Cabinet. /

Why can’t the RINOs “suck it up” and get behind a conservative candidate like they keep telling us to do?

Steele was caught between our federalist principle of Self-Determination at the local level and job responsibility for funding Republican candidates. He chose correctly, albeit less than creatively.

We can no longer compromise on core principles. Politicians who are willing to twist the meaning of our Constitution like a taffy-pull at the county fair in order to win populist support will no longer be tolerated. It’s too late for that. The wolf is at the door and Fascism looms.

If Crist can’t display a basic knowledge of core principles and a willingness to strictly adhere to Constitutional governance… then HE is the one making a choice to plunge his state into chaos. The RINO commits a fraud upon us. The RINO is an identity thief, running under a banner that is not his own.

Two honest Republicans should be fully capable of competing against each other civilly, because even in opposition on certain issues, they are unified by common values. We do not ask that they share one opinion on social issues. All we ask is that they prove their unwavering commitment to tackle these issues constitutionally.

If people like Charlie Crist, Lindsay Graham, and Dede Scozzafava are unwilling to make that commitment, then it is they, not us, who fail the party. They can point fingers all they like, complain about our disdain for “moderates”, refer to us as “purists”… but there is no moderation possible when it comes to adherence to the U.S. Constitution. You either embrace it, or you don’t.

Should I vote for a Republican that I agree with 20% of the time, or the Democrat that I agree with 10% of the time, or just say the h#!! with it and stay home.

MarkTheGreat on November 5, 2009 at 8:25 AM

LOL..and watch the “Barry” Show on every station, at least twice a week.

I hope Ace follows these comments so he’ll know whose theory is correct.

Allahpundit on November 4, 2009 at 8:30 PM

That would only be true if active HotAir posters are reflective of the conservative movement in general.

they all fell in line by the time the election rolled around.

Don’t count on it in Florida. crist winning the nomination could be disastrous to all republicans on the ballot on election day. Conservatives have had martinez and crist and mccain forced on us here in Florida and having crist forced on us again by the nrc may significantly effect the conservative turnout at the polls hurting all republicans. The nrc has got another rino, smith from maine, to jump into the primaries here to take conservative votes away from Rubio. smith is not a conservative, he was a “maverick” along with mccain and was often a problem for the republican caucus. I’d bet the house the nrc is behind his candidacy hoping he’ll hurt Rubio.

that Crist will likely end up being just as demonized as the eventual Democratic nominee, if not more so.

crist is already doing that all by himself. He went on cnn and lied last night, his main campaign radio spot is dishonest and misleading. Rubio has barely started even advertising his campaign. crist is, and has always been, a dishonest, say anything, creepy little liberal. The national spotlight will expose him. A lawyer I know who deals with government all the time has been in meetings that crist attended over the years and she says he is mind boggling dumb. If elected to the senate he will go to washington and be having dinner in the white house within two weeks. He will turn out worse then snowe and collins. He is lincoln chaffee on steroids.

Let me guees, sending money to the RNC is the recommended solution!

mossberg500 on November 5, 2009 at 6:21 AM

You hit the nail, on the head. Remington 870 here

Certainly primaries are a better way to handle intraparty warfare than third-party challenges, but they’re not perfect. My sense of the looming Crist/Rubio battle in Florida is that it’s going to get nasty and that Crist will likely end up being just as demonized as the eventual Democratic nominee, if not more so. And if that happens — and Crist wins the primary anyway — I’m not sure how the fences end up being mended in time for a unified party-line vote in the general election. It’s hard to go from “this guy’s a scumbag RINO who’s no better than the Democrats who are destroying the country” to “this guy represents most of my interests” in a few months.

Not that I want to model anything after the Democrats, but they do this all the time. Look at Clinton vs. Obama. Bill and Hill were foursquare behind Obama after the primary and I think they both probably liked McCain more, personally. The Right kept talking about the Democrats who would never vote for Obama after beating Hillary. It didn’t happen, they all fell in line by the time the election rolled around.

Republicans should stop being afraid of tough, hard fought primaries. One of the things Obama’s election should have taught Republicans is that airing a large portion of the dirty laundry to a generally friendly crowd is much easier then allowing the opposition party to do it with the general population. Then with the Democrat brings up the same issues in the general the eventual nominee will have had time to come up with answers or counter arguments.

Steele went on to suggest that the process by which DeDe Scozzafava was selected was a flawed one.

Was DeDe the only person who showed up the day that she was selected to run? A little background work on a candidate and how they would represent their constituants should be in order if $1 Million is thrown in the ring from the RNC.