Next step for the GOP: Intervening more in primaries to try to clear the field
What to do about the primaries has become Topic A in many a post-election Republican soul-searching session, and now the first steps are being taken to address the issue. For Senate Republicans, that means a modified return to their 2010 posture of openly playing in primaries. A retiring House Republican is starting a super PAC to help House members challenged from the right. And an RNC commission is mulling over changes to the party’s presidential primary.
In the Senate, where at least five GOP losses in the past two election cycles could be attributed to primaries, Republican leaders are planning to intervene in selected 2014 races to ensure preferred candidates win the nomination.
High-profile Senate Republicans are going to try to pre-empt bloody primaries with aggressive, early recruitment and support — effectively trying to clear fields.
“Instead of worrying about resolving a contested primary and upsetting a lot of folks on both sides … you recruit the best candidate on the front end,” explained Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio.), a newly named NRSC vice chairman and close ally of Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell.
Blowback
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He never said stupid stuff or gave up stupid home runs.
Oh wait he did. Yes I remember now. Yet the establishment said lets bring him back again so he can choke for us again.
Nice job GM of the GOP….nice job….
William Eaton on January 4, 2013 at 2:31 PM
It is exactly as accurate to blame the establishment as the tea party for Akin’s win. However, you are correct, the blame ultimately falls on him for being an idiot.
alwaysfiredup on January 4, 2013 at 2:32 PM
The blame was entirely Akin’s (and maybe Huckabee’s). I agree. Whoever is at “fault” for nominating him (which is where he was the most “establishment” candidate on the ballot), it is his fault for not dropping out when he had plenty of time to do so. Problem is that the people who want to capitulate to statism at every turn sit here and use him as an example of Tea Party f-up. He wasn’t.
besser tot als rot on January 4, 2013 at 2:33 PM
Sorry, I misread that and thought you were referring to Akin.
I will cede that Mourdock didn’t have a history of saying stupid stuff, and said alone it probably wouldn’t have been as toxic. On the heels of Akin’s remarks though (when you should expect to be asked the same question for the very same reason), it turned out to be deadly.
The Count on January 4, 2013 at 2:33 PM
One thing that I do know is that McCaskill ran against Akin. And that Donnelly ran against Mourdock.
besser tot als rot on January 4, 2013 at 2:35 PM
+1
———
The answer is closed primaries. Democrats/Independents/Libertarians should not be picking the Republican nominee. They get to pick their own nominee.
cptacek on January 4, 2013 at 2:35 PM
Obviously it’s going to be the Tea Party and Liberty Movement candidates that the corrupt GOP establishment are going do their best to ace out. They are the biggest threat to the tax and spend GOP.
FloatingRock on January 4, 2013 at 2:35 PM
I don’t actually see why what Mourdock said was bad.
cptacek on January 4, 2013 at 2:36 PM
The answer is good, articulate free market candidates. The problem is that these type of people don’t want to make a career out of being a politician. They hate the state and would rather do anything other than be a part of the state. So we get second or third class rejects as our politicians. Meanwhile, on the left, they worship the state (and press) and want nothing more than to be a part of it.
besser tot als rot on January 4, 2013 at 2:39 PM
I think a conservative oppo outfit that is not a henchman of the Establishment would be a good idea. I don’t like that this bunch seems to work for the establishment.
But we have primary-winning blocs of our party that are prone to occasionally making bad choices in primaries for candidates who then lose general elections. We don’t have a media who will polish our turds, so we need to not nominate turds in the first place.
But I think if someone can take these factions aside, and rationally point out the real problems with a problem candidate, these folks can see reason and plan accordingly.
Sekhmet on January 4, 2013 at 2:39 PM
I live in VA. Allen didn’t lose because of his remarks in 2006. I don’t even remember it mentioned in any TV ads or newscasts.
VA is 20% black with Obama on the ballot. Presidential year elections will continue to be competitive in this state because all of the disengaged derelicts turn out.
The Count on January 4, 2013 at 2:40 PM
I don’t agree. In an election that already had a “War on Women” and Akin, it was an incredibly stupid to even talk about the subject, particularly in the way that he phrased it.
Look. I get it. God intended the life. But that statement can easily be interpreted as God intended the rape. Which is a beyond stupid thing to say. Any GOP candidate to any office should have to take an oath not to say “God intended” or “Gift from God” and “Rape” in a sentence together. It’s not really rocket science.
besser tot als rot on January 4, 2013 at 2:45 PM
Allen lost because of Romney’s epic collapse in VA. But, Allen is a great illustration that stupidity and foot-in-mouth-itis is not limited to Tea Party or free market conservative candidates.
besser tot als rot on January 4, 2013 at 2:47 PM
I am just pointing out the forgiving nature the GOP establishment shows to their guys when they do or say idiotic things, but the Tea Party screws up a couple of times and it is off with your head. The GOP establishments ability to pick winners is no better than the Tea Party, if not worse. The Tea Party has an excuse though because they are new at this, the GOP establishment has none because they have been doing it for years.
There is nothing more comical than comments upon comments about the glories of Michael Castle and the golden age he would have bestowed upon us mortals if only those evil Tea party people had not prevented it by picking the wicked witch of the west.
Frankly the GOP needs to stop worrying about deep blue states and worry about making sure easy red states are filled with suitably conservative candidates. That means you pick the guy that is conservative at least 70% of the time…not Charlie Crist!
William Eaton on January 4, 2013 at 2:56 PM
By an idiot. Or a liar (the MSM). Anyone with a brain and unmalicious intent knows exactly what he was saying.
cptacek on January 4, 2013 at 3:12 PM
Obama was elected by idiots who watch the liars on TV.
The Count on January 4, 2013 at 3:21 PM
I don’t know what world you live in, where you think that describes the Democrats or the press. And when the information gets “repackaged” for general consumption, the interpretation of what he was saying is taken completely out of the picture. GOP politicians need to be aware that anything that they say can and will be interpreted and twisted in bad faith into what will make him look the absolute worst.
besser tot als rot on January 4, 2013 at 3:25 PM
Now this is what I like to see:
http://dailycaller.com/2013/01/04/republican-establishment-slipping-in-missouri-congressional-race/
alwaysfiredup on January 4, 2013 at 3:26 PM
So what could have he said that couldn’t be twisted?
cptacek on January 4, 2013 at 3:26 PM
^The answer is nothing. Unless he capitulated on his stance that rape is not an acceptable reason for an abortion, anything he said would have been twisted.
cptacek on January 4, 2013 at 3:27 PM
I’m not sure what constitutes “establishment” or “grassroots” anymore, but the general implication by many is that the “establishment” supports mealy-mouthed RINO’s when George Allen has always been a pretty reliable conservative. He was the Mark Levin primary favorite too, FWIW.
There are, of course, degrees of stupidity when it comes to stupid remarks and actions, but timing is also key. Obama probably would have lost in 2008 if Jeremiah Wright had surfaced in October. Akin’s comments were worse than Allen’s, but they also happened 6 years ago.
The Count on January 4, 2013 at 3:28 PM
You could have stopped after the first sentence. That is the answer. I don’t believe in abortion in the case of rape, but if I were asked the question, my answer would be this:
“Look, I think rapists deserve lifetime imprisonment or worse. I also believe in the science of embryology that tells me exactly when life begins.
Now, there are always hard cases with any sensitive issue – abortion is one of them. And, I’m a lot more willing to listen to plans for how to deal with this problem than I am for the vast majority of cases in which people seek abortions as a sort of birth control.”
The Count on January 4, 2013 at 3:38 PM
No because he quit politics after he lost. And not that bad? He had a 52% conservative voting record, 52%! He had a lower rating from the Club for Growth than Arlen Specter. F rating from the NRA and GOA. 0 from the National Right to Life. Voted for the stimulus. Voted for the auto bailouts. No on banning preferential treatment based on race in college admissions. Yes on off-shore drilling moratorium. Supports cap-and-trade. Opposed drilling in ANWR. Yes on cash for clunkers. Why not just vote in a democrat?
topdawg on January 4, 2013 at 3:38 PM
How about – “This election is about jobs and the economy, and that is where I will maintain my focus on behalf of the citizens of Indiana”.
IamDA on January 4, 2013 at 6:44 PM
Reporters who sense that you don’t want to talk about your “no abortions, no exceptions” stance are like a dog on a bone.
Also, your argument didn’t work for Mitt, why would it work for anyone else?
cptacek on January 4, 2013 at 7:08 PM
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