…by losing.
If you think the Republicans lost in Virginia when Dem. Terry McCauliffe was elected governor yesterday, you don’t understand anything.
The Republicans won. Well, at least they got what they wanted.
What the Republicans wanted was to not have another high profile tea-party guy win another high-profile election.
The Republican party refused to put any real money behind Ken Cuccinelli because he is exactly that breed of tea-party Republican that they despise.
They stayed away with their names and their money. They called Cucinelli “unelectable” and told us how wise they were for saving their money for winnable races.
Cuccinelli lost by barely 3 points. Even a little money and a little support might have made all the difference.
But this wasn’t a mistake. This was purposeful. They don’t want people like Cuccinelli in the party. They don’t want more Ted Cruzes and Mike Lees.
The Republicans got exactly what they wanted yesterday and Virginia and the country are worse for it. That is today’s Republican party.
They would rather lose without you than win with you.
November 6, 2013 at 4:04 pm
Yes. Exactly. So what are conservatives to do? I made it clear to the party headquarters years ago that I was changing my registration to I from R and refused to donate to the party because it was becoming Democrat-lite. But we are over a barrel – votes for a third party candidate ensured that Cuccinelli would lose and that's pretty much how it works.
November 6, 2013 at 9:10 pm
Hear! Hear! The Republican Establishment won, Conservatives lost.
That explains RNC chair Creme Rinse celebrating Christie's landslide victory in Ashbury Park. Shouldn't have Priebus been assisting Cucinelli in Virginia, instead?
The GOP Establishment/RNC/Carl Rove hate Conservatives as a whole. However, they have particular disdain for Conservative women and other minorities. They don't help them get elected. And if they're in office, they help get them booted out.
The Republican Party is now the party of rich, elitist, males.
November 6, 2013 at 9:53 pm
I am a Virginian and I see it a bit differently. I think Virginia Republicans lost, and badly. I was active in the political process that led us to this point. I attended county GOP meetings and I was a delegate to the GOP convention. Furthermore, I LIKE Ken Cuccinelli. I've met him and shook his hand. I've been to his Church (a local Catholic powerhouse parish by the way) and I admire his work as Attorney General. I also think he would be a great governor. I agree with a great deal of what he ran on and what is in his record. But I am furious at him for deciding to run for Governor. By forcing Bill Bolling, a well liked Lieutenant Governor, out of the race, the Virginia GOP lost a candidate who was almost guaranteed a victory. By forcing a convention instead of a primary, he further weakened the GOP ticket by allowing a complete non-started to gain the LG nomination. And he alienated the entire party. Should they have supported him more? Probably. But why support the guy who just spent a few years giving you the finger. I don't know if Cuccinelli decided to run out of personal ambition or if he just listened to bad counsel, but his decision doomed Virginia to four years of awful policies which will likely lead to a reduced economic capacity and scores of murdered children. Beyond that, he essentially handed the state to Hilary Clinton in 2016. Cuccinelli has been around far longer than the Tea Party crowd has. He and I both agree with a lot of what the tea party stands for, but his embrace of them was a horrible strategic decision. The problem with the Tea Party crowd isn't that they're wrong, its that they're so damn stupid. Virginia would have had a republican governor. Instead, Cuccinelli gift-wrapped the state for a carpetbagger Clinton crony.
November 7, 2013 at 1:31 am
I think the lesson learned here is that too many Republicans have too great an interest in wielding power to wield power and..not be Democrats. Overall, the Party doesn't appear to me to be concerned about serious virtue.
I think it very telling that, in spite of Party neglect, being wildly outspent, and numerous attacks ads levelled against him, Cuccinellis still came within 2-3 points of victory.
In other words, unlike in 1992, a grassroots effort might be able to present serious competition to "established" candidates.
I don't know anything at all about other Republican candidates' qualities; it's possible that Mr. Bolling, who Andrew mentioned, would've been a solid candidate. I DO know that Mr. Cuccinelli appears to me to have sought office with the intent to improve the state of Virginia.
I can't knock that.
I also hear that Chris Christie won handily in New Jersey; I'm not sure what to think of him yet. Should he run for President, we'll have plenty of time to learn more about him, but I'm not impressed with his record related to protecting families. I'm sure he had his reasons for signing a gay "marriage" statue into law, but I think we've tolerated a great deal of that these past few years.
I don't think we can rely on Republicans to solve problems.