Has the NRSC Seen the Light?

Via Memeorandum:

As a Conservative, I've been waiting to see what, if any lessons the GOP establishment has learned from NY23. I've remarked a couple of times that the ball is in the GOP establishment's court. Lo and behold, The Note reports Cornyn: ‘We Will Not Spend Money in a Contested Primary’. Forgive me if I'm not popping any corks just yet.

From The Note report:

With Republicans grappling with the fallout of an intra-party battle that may have cost them a House seat, the head of the Senate Republican campaign effort is making a pledge that may ease some of the anger being directed at the party establishment.

"We will not spend money in a contested primary," Sen. John Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told ABC News in a telephone interview today.

"There's no incentive for us to weigh in," said Cornyn, R-Texas. "We have to look at our resources. . . . We're not going to throw money into a [primary] race leading up to the election."

Okay, so far, so good but what about a primary race that the NRSC has already weighed in on-the Florida Republican primary race for US Senate between Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio? Cornyn has this to say:

Cornyn had praise for Rubio, and said he's sure that he would win the general election if he gets past Crist in the primary. Cornyn said he's confident that -- unlike in upstate New York -- Republicans will settle their differences in the primary.

"The first lesson is that competitive primaries are generally a good thing," Cornyn said. "To me, that's the overarching lesson to be learned out of the 23rd. When 11 people get behind closed doors and pick the nominee ... the grassroots are going to find an alternative."

Cornyn said the NRSC is only endorsing in races where -- like in Crist's case -- the candidate specifically requests its stamp of approval. He said that -- notwithstanding any endorsements -- his group would even offer advice on hiring and strategy to GOP challengers, like Rubio, who haven't been endorsed.

Well I'm glad that the NRSC likes Marco Rubio, I do too, and Cornyn, contrary to earlier statements, acknowledges the Rubio would win against the Democratic candidate, but if I'm getting this right, the NRSC is not withdrawing its endorsement of Charlie Crist.


Cornyn contends that endorsements "are overrated." Hmm.


I'm taking a "the glass is half empty" approach to this.