Leaving the "Republican Establishment" Behind

I knew early on today what I would writing today based on an email that I had received from the Marco Rubio campaign. It turned out that several posts on Memeorandum feed right in to where I am headed. First from Erick Erickson, writing at Red State:

The conservative movement has made NY-23, like the Florida Senate race, a Hill
to Die On. Here, in New York of all places, the conservative movement will tell
the GOP that it will either win with conservatives or lose without them.
Conservatives across the spectrum of conservatism from Fred Thompson to Mike
Huckabee and on and on have told the GOP it is time to turn back to limited
government and will fight the GOP in NY-23 for supporting a woman who embraces
large government and destructive social policies.

As a Floridian, and a Rubio supporter, this is a “Hill to Die On.” According to the email I received, Rubio just won his twelfth straw poll:

As the Palm Beach Post reports, “In what has become a familiar ritual at
gatherings of Republican activists across Florida, former Florida House Speaker
Marco Rubio trounced Gov. Charlie Crist in a straw poll of GOP Senate
candidates…”

This time, it was the Palm Beach County Republican
Party that handed Marco a 90-17 victory, improving his straw poll record to
12-0.

By anyone standards 12-0 is pretty impressive. Rubio has beaten Crist by wide margins from one end of the state to the other, yet he is doing it without the NRCC support. Grass root Conservatives have made their choice clear and in return the GOP leadership has responded with an unapologetic “pound sand.” The reason they give for their support of Crist-they say he is more likely to beat the Democratic senatorial candidate Kendrick Meek. Apparently they are unfamiliar with the August Rassmussen Poll that shows that in a general election Rubio would beat Meek by 13 points.

Bill Kristol writes, Shouldn't the Republican Establishment Help a Republican Win a Congressional Seat? Well, yes, that would be nice, but if the races in New York and Florida are any indication the “Republican Establishment” bears no resemblance to the “Conservative Base.”

Whether it is the establishment’s backing Scozzafava in New York and Crist in Florida or Graham sucking up to John Kerry on Cap and Trade, it has become a bridge too far. Why should I vote for a republican simply because they call themselves a republican? Will Cap and Trade have less financial impact on me and my family because a RINO voted for it? No. I will no less screwed under ObamaCare or Cap and Trade or the next ten stimulus bills because a RINO crossed the aisle to bend me, my family and my country over a chair. If my vote won’t make any difference, I will keep it in my pocket with my money.

The “Republican Establishment” has a HUGE Tea Party problem and it will only get worse by taking us for granted. We are no longer willing to throw our votes away. Going forward, we will vote our principals not a party. If that means that the Republican Party becomes even more marginalized, so be it. Sooner or later, maybe, the “establishment” will get the message. If not, we will leave them standing at the station.


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