The question "Did you hear us?" has been answered

and they said, "Nope!" 

During my morning perusal of Memeorandum I came across this little gem:

GOP woos 'Morning Joe' for Fla. Senate

Had I not read it at The Hill I would have thought it was some kind of cruel joke.  Joe Scarborough?  That is who John (whole lotta love for Charlie Crist) Cornyn thinks is a "suitable" candidate for the next Florida senate race?  Geez, why doesn't the NRSC just start backing Democrats for crying out loud?

I've sent the following email to Reince Priebus, RNC Chairman:

Dear Chairman Priebus,

You are new and I think you deserve a fair shake and I think you deserve to know why a lot of Republicans have quit calling ourselves "Republican" and prefer to be known as "conservatives". Many of us are fed up with the Republican Party. We feel that the Party takes us for granted. We feel that you ask us for donations but ignore our input. Case in point:

GOP woos 'Morning Joe' for Fla. Senate

The last time John Cornyn and the NRSC decided to interfere in Florida politics the anointed one was Charlie Crist. We all know how well that turned out. As Marco Rubio won straw poll after straw poll the NRSC stood by their man Crist. Had Crist not left the party Cornyn and Company would have followed him straight off the cliff. Well, here we go again. And for that matter-Joe Scarborough? Really? What does the NRSC have against Republicans?

For an idea of how well this news is going over I suggest you read Not One Red Cent a blog started in response to the NRSC's knack for backing the least conservative candidates in the field. Or for some specific reasons why the wooing of Scarborough is mind boggling to conservatives, Prof. Jacobson has an excellent post at Legal Insurrection. I have no doubt that by the end of the day there will be plenty of reaction to this news throughout the Conservative blogosphere.

I want to see the Republican Party succeed but if I have to chose between being a Republican and being a Conservative the Republican Party loses hands down. We Conservatives sent a clear message last November. It is apparent that not everyone in the Republican Party heard us. As party chairman it is your job to rectify the situation.

Sincerely,

Carolyn Tackett

The tyranny of the establishment has to end if the Republican party is going to continue to exist.  The current leadership of the NRSC is notnonly tone deaf-they are stupid.  Joe Scarborough?  I'm just stunned.

More at:

Riehl World View
Weasel Zippers

Who needs elections?

There is a lesson to be learned from the O'Donnell primary win in Delaware-the voters are idiots and can not be trusted to chose their own representatives.  Obviously fifty-three percent of the Republicans in Delaware have no idea what they have done but fear not, Karl Rove, Charles Krauthhamer and the gentlemen of the Old Boys Club NRSC will set them straight even if it means they hand the Senate seat to the Marxist Coons on a silver platter.  Who in their right mind would listen to "the people", ignorant rabble rousers one and all, when they could so benefit from the guidance of John Cornyn & Co.  After all, it was the NRSC who backed Charlie "Me, Me, Me" Crist in the the Florida republican race for Senate.   Oh, bad example.  Anyway it is clear that we can't have the electorate running about willy nilly making important decisions concerning their own lives.  Let's just do away with elections and allow our betters to what they do best-ignore us.  Ruling by fiat, baby!  That's where its at.

Will He Stay or Will He Go?

The Weekly Standard:

The St. Pete Times reports:

The Marco Rubio campaign says Charlie Crist has halted all its TV advertising in the Orlando and Tampa Bay markets where the anti-Rubio spots were airing.

Crist's veto of the Jeb Bush-backed education bill seemed to be a strong sign he was running as an independent, but the decision to pull the ads could mean, as the Times reports, that "Crist has decided to marshal his resources for later or perhaps drop out altogether." First Read reported on Friday that Crist is considering dropping out and living to fight another day:

First Read has learned that Crist is getting much of his political advice nowadays from GOP strategist Mitch Bainwol, and they are considering two options right now: 1) making an independent bid, which would turn the general election into a toss-up; and 2) dropping out of the race altogether and turning his sights to a 2012 Senate challenge against Bill Nelson (D). But right now, no one is seriously talking about Crist staying in a GOP primary he’s trailing by double digits. The filing deadline is at the end of this month.

I've said all along that running as an Independent is not in Crist's best interest.  He won't win and an Independent bid would effectively end Crist's career.  Nothing that I have have seen from Crist indicates to me that he is a "cut off his nose to spite his face" kind of guy.  Better to bow out gracefully and look to the future.

On an interesting note, Dan Riehl is reporting that Crist is not taking or returning John Cornyn's calls:

It appears John Cornyn may be about to get something more painful from Charlie Crist than a back waxing. Cornyn pushed Crist early and hard. His pay back may come from the back and with a twist, capping off Cornyn's less than stellar performance at the NRSC.

Privately, GOP officials have even tried to broach the idea that Crist drop out of the race. NRSC chair John Cornyn called Crist on Friday, intending to make it clear that Crist should drop out if he doesn't believe he can win a party primary. Crist did not answer the phone, a source close to Cornyn said, and as of today Cornyn's call hasn't been returned.

I guess somebody isn't feeling the love.  It is hard to feel sorry for Cornyn.  He and the NRSC just seem to be capable of learning from their mistakes. 

Crist Watch: As the Worm Turns

Stacy McCain has a source that says Charlie Crist will announce today that he is launching an Independent bid for US Senator from Florida.  Put that in the "might as well" category.  Having vetoed the Jeb Bush backed and Republican supported teacher pay bill on Thursday, he has effectively ended any chance he might have had to defeat Marco Rubio to become the Republican candidate this fall.  From Jennifer Rubin at Contentions:

This might make sense — if independents were enamored of public employees’ unions and against school reform. But they aren’t, and its the sort of thing that will make Crist unpopular with everyone but the teachers’ union, which will no doubt support the Democrat in the general election anyway. No wonder Crist’s campaign chairman quit. It was the type of move for which Crist has now become infamous — combining bad politics with bad policy.

Moreover, Crist managed to infuriate popular ex-governor Jeb Bush, who’s as yet not made an official endorsement in the race. But his statement lashing out at Crist’s veto is the sort of thing Marco Rubio will be putting in his campaign ads:

I am disappointed by the veto of Senate Bill 6. … By taking this action, Governor Crist has jeopardized the ability of Florida to build on the progress of the last decade, which includes raising student achievement across the board, narrowing the achievement gap for poor and minority students, and improving graduation rates. Florida’s sustained improvement is the result of bold reforms that were challenging, controversial and sometimes even unpopular. Reform is hard work but without a commitment to change, Florida would not be 8th in the nation today.

All in all, it was a harebrained move by a politician who has demonstrated why it is a very good thing to have contested primaries: voters can figure out who’s a disaster waiting to happen.

I feel compelled to point out that this would not have been a contested primary had the NRSC had its way.  More proof that the NRSC should stay out of local politics until after the primary voters have had the opportunity to have their say.

Allahpundit:

 And then Mack abandons ship:

Gov. Charlie Crist’s political mentor, former U.S. Sen. Connie Mack, resigned Thursday as Crist’s campaign chairman in his race for the U.S. Senate…

“As you know, I strongly disagree with your veto,” Mack wrote his fellow Republican. “Your veto I believe undermines our education system in Florida and the principles for which I have always stood.”

Mack went on to say that Crist’s decision to veto the bill was “unsupportable and wrong.”

“As you can understand, I can no longer serve as chairman for your campaign for the United States Senate,” Mack wrote.

I know today’s veto was a big deal but it surely wasn’t so big that Mack would cut ties to his own protege over it in an act of conscience. Either he’s using this as a pretext to head for the lifeboats because the Republican nomination is now officially unwinnable or Crist’s told him privately that he’s running as an independent and Mack refuses to go against the party. Either way, Crist’s days as a Republican Senate candidate are over. Say, John Cornyn — you and the NRSC endorsed Crist almost a year ago, didn’t you? How are you feeling this fine evening?

I've said all along that Crist running as an Independent would be an act of throwing good money after bad.  It won't help him and simply feeds in to Crist's reputation as being an opportunist.  If he wants any chance of preserving his political career, Crist needs to bow out gracefully.  I'm not sure that "graceful" is currently on Crist's radar.  In any case, Crist has learned that you can't run as a Republican while, literally, embracing Democrats.






H/T Instapundit

Good Golly, Miss Molly! Did He Say, "Yield"?

Was Sen. Cornyn sucking on a hookah when he made this ass backwards pronouncement?

"Folks on the right, and frankly I'm one of them in terms of voting record, have to yield to the world as it is and not necessarily how they wish it would be," Cornyn told Reuters for a story about centrist Rep. Mike Castle's (R) bid for Senate next year in Delaware.

If I understand, and I hope I don't, Cornyn is saying that if a voter's candidate of choice does not meet Cornyn's definition of reality, that voter should dump their conscious and yield to Cornyn's reality. If that is the case, why don't we do away with primaries and just let Cornyn's little club just appoint our candidates for us? What a putz.

It is this "I know better than you" attitude that has turned voters in droves away from the Republican party and straight in to the arms of the Tea Party. And the Tea Party doesn't even exist.

I am trying to be a good Republican. I've been a Republican my entire adult life. But don't talk down to me. Don't tell me who to vote for. And by all means, get over any thought of taking me for granted.

That is reality.

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.

There's an Upset Brewing in Florida

From the September 13th addition of the St. Petersburg Times:


"It's rare that I talk to anyone that's got a good thing to say about the governor right now. It's hard to find a real Charlie Crist ally," said former state Republican chairman Tom Slade. "Charlie Crist is a marvelous politician, but rarely do you use the word statesman with Charlie Crist. That's his vulnerability, getting branded as another self-centered politician, and he doesn't have many more opportunities to muff up before that happens." ...

His state is losing population for the first time in 60 years. Unemployment and foreclosures are soaring. Taxes haven't dropped like a rock as he promised, and Florida remains one hurricane away from bankruptcy. County Republican parties are openly revolting against Crist, while a charismatic young rival, Marco Rubio, is being hailed on the cover of William F. Buckley's National Review magazine as the future of the GOP. ...

The polls don't show it yet, but warning signs abound for Crist. Local Republican executive committees and clubs in every corner of the state are holding symbolic "straw poll" votes where Rubio doesn't just beat Crist, but consistently trounces him 8- or 9-to-1.

Three things have brought the Florida Republican Senate race to this point.

First, Charlie Crist, generally considered a (very) liberal Republican, angered the base by embracing President Obama and the president’s highly unpopular Stimulus Bill. Bad has gone to worse for the governor as unemployment has risen in the state and Crist broke his promise not raise taxes on already cash strapped Floridians.

Second, Marco Rubio showed up on the scene as Crist’s polar opposite Rubio, the former Speaker of the Florida House is a staunch conservative who fires up the base at every event he attends. In addition to his conservative credentials, he is young, photogenic and unbelievably well spoken. He connects with “the people” because he intuitively knows how to talk to people without talking down to them-a refreshing quality in a politician.

Third, in a huge miscalculation, the NRSC came out in favor of Crist right out of the gate. Sadly, many in the Republican party leadership do not seem to understand how unhappy the base is with them. By backing a candidate prior to the primary, the NRSC cemented the feeling among the base that the ‘street level’ Republican doesn’t count.

This is being played as an ‘upset in the making’ but as a member of the base, I don’t know anybody who is upset by the notion of ‘Senator Rubio.’