Republicans start working on 2014 House races: by targeting their own

[grantcart]

The disparate parts of the Republican Party really don't like each other. The only thing the at holds the defense hawks, deficit hawks, tax hawks, abortion hawks and the fundamentalists together is when they have clear leadership and they fall in line. In appointing Cheney as VP Bush ensured a classic successor struggle. When McCain picked Palin he extended the leadership vacuum.

Now the Republicans would rather purge the party, make it pure than win.

You would think that after losing badly in 2012 that there would be some attempt at a united front.

Not only has that not happened they are doubling down.

Club of Growth has a new website and a new campaign:

Target fellow Republicans for defeat, PrimaryMyCongressman.com

http://www.primarymycongressman.com/

If you cannot govern your own party then why do you think the people would ever trust you to govern the state?

[leftyohiolib]

1. we have our own dems to oust as well

[grantcart]

2. or we could try to take back the House.

[leftyohiolib]

4. well i'd a thought that a given - but no reason we cant do both

[grantcart]

5. What any individual Senator or Rep, Democrat or Republican thinks or says

is becoming increasingly irrelevant.

The only relevant points now are:

1) Do they vote to elect the right leaders

2) Do they follow caucus discipline on critical votes.


In the past individuals used to count on something, but with the increasing polarization only caucus numbers and discipline count for real power anymore.

Give me a dozen DINOs from Southern districts if it means that we take the House, the Committees and when it comes to key votes they stay in line.

It is somewhat cynical, I agree, but that's where I am at.

[Blue Idaho]

6. Cynical no - Practical yes.

The "big tent" that welcomes diverse thought has always been the key to success when it comes to governing. Look back through history - there has rarely been a time when any party in power got there and stayed there by enforcing a rigid pencil thin set of values for all the members all the time. It has certainly never been the case for the Democratic party. What was it Will Rogers said? "I'm not a member of an organized political party - I'm a Democrat."

What matters is knowing when to end discussion and how to follow leadership on critical votes.

Same as it ever was.

[sofa king]

3. My peanut-butter cup theory still holds.

The Republican Party is like a peanut butter cup melting on the dashboard of a car in the sun: A thin shell of evil is desperately trying to contain the larger, oozing mass of stupid inside.

The stupid is leaking out, and the integrity of the peanut butter cup is failing. Soon it will be a puddle of evil stupidity with no working structure at all.

[JHB]

7. Republicans rode to power on bundling single-issue extremeism...

...to pry apart the Democrats' New Deal coalition, and their success in doing so just encouraged more of it with ever-more intensity.

Now the people who once would have been relegated to "ranting cranks" are in major leadership positions, they scorn any lack of the same intensity as "RINOs", and are perfectly willing to gnaw each other apart out of sheer righteousness.

I'm happy to watch them do it, decidedly unhappy about the fallout on the rest of us until they chew themselves into impotence.

[Jennicut]

8. They brought it all on themselves. You bring the crazies inside to the party and let them have

leadership posts. Their egos got huge and they thought they could purge the party. Hence, the infighting. Hope it destroys the party and they keep losing Presidential races for years to come.

[Arkana]

9. The Republicans have become the Daleks.

[tabbycat31]

10. You can submit a congressman to primary on that website

I think that their submissions need to be DUed.

[Arkana]

11. Submit every half-moderate the GOP has in the House.

I won't rest until I see guys like Darrell Issa up there.