Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The Toxicity of That “R.”

In the wake of the primary elections that have been held thus far this year, the Other McCain provides discerning halftime analysis:
Democrat candidates can fake being conservative a lot easier than Republican candidates can escape the toxicity of that “R.”

Notice, for example, that in the May 18 Arkansas primaries, the turnout on the Democratic side was more than 300,000 while the highly-contested GOP primary — with eight candidates — drew less than half that. In fact, Lincoln’s vote in Tuesday’s Democratic runoff (about 135,000) was nearly twice what John Boozman got (about 75,000) in the Republican primary.
If Republican primary turnout is so low in Arkansas — not exactly a bastion of liberalism — it’s obvious the GOP still has a lot of work to do in order to rid itself of the toxic taint of Bushism.
And that’s why we have the Tea Party. The Tea Party is an easily recognized and accessible antidote for GOP establishment toxicity. Tea Party candidates are running against the nasty, corrupt, incompetent, and unprincipled Republican good ol' boy network.

Nikki Haley is as good an example as any other…when Tea Party principles are sincerely embraced, conservative Republicans can enjoy great success, even in the most toxic GOP environments. (Scott Brown reminds us that this is not just a "red state" phenomenon). And that's why the Tea Party scares people on both sides of the aisle.


More


Recovering from Republican Brand Damage is a Process:
Lipstick ain’t enough

The Other McCain: Don’t Bet Your Hopes

Discussion at Memeorandum

7 comments:

Ran / Si Vis Pacem said...

Thanks RK for the link!
Cheers!

RightKlik said...

Ran / Si Vis Pacem: Thanks for dropping by.

Unknown said...

Primaries, to most, is not that big of a deal. (though it should be). But with that said I think with the number of Tea Party endorsed candidates winning their GOP ticket (and you'll see more, I am sure) and who will faceoff against the libocialist... You'll see the midterms more palatable for most Ind. and Cons and the numbers in Nov should improve.

Debra's Diary said...

By the way, just in case you missed it... Obama announsed that he is going to give a $400 million aid package to the Hamas Terrorists in Gaza!

How do we fight this outrage? How much more can we stand????

I love my country, but I despise this spineless anti-American government.

Z said...

"both sides of the aisle" is right...the GOP establishment (Palin, Romney, etc., on 'canned' calls to the house every other day) only supported the moderate Republicans in California...not the true Conservatives.
I think the GOP's afraid of the Tea Parties, too.......
Palin's support of McCain over Hayworth really bugged me til I realized she couldn't very well go against her running mate; how would the media have treated that? IMAGINE?

I sure hope they don't find that the Nikki DID commit adultery, MAN.

RightKlik said...

MA: We're moving in the right direction. I just hope we move far enough.

DD: Jeremiah Wright's most famous disciple is doing exactly what you'd expect from a disciple of JW.

Z: Definitely disappointed in Palin's picks. Palin is doing what politicians do: making decisions on the basis of what's best for their careers, not on what's best for their country.

Anonymous said...

RK, good thoughts and I think in the same way. The GOP and the DNC are politics of old, and never what is in the best interest of the country or the Constitution.