It was uncharacteristic and we apologize.
The Republican establishment
Here are two blistering articles referring to the GOP establishment’s “non-feasance” and mal-feasance in the Virginia Governor’s race. Ben Johnson writing at LifeSiteNews quotes two conservative icons extensively — Rush Limbaugh and Richard Viguerie. They are disgusted with the performance of the Republican establishment and the RNC. Many financial benchmarks relative to the race are also revealed. National Review Online editor Jonah Goldberg, who is not normally associated with the fire-breathers like us in calling the RNC types to task is quoted as follows:
“For all the talk about how the base needs to cooperate with the establishment more, it’s worth remembering that the base almost always does its part on Election Day. Its the establishment that is less reliable in returning the favor.”
Tony Perkins of Family Research Council,a Virginia resident, is more than tepid under the collar about the Republican establishment and the Cuccenelli race:
(greatly outspent) Ken had neither the cash flow nor the infrastructure to beat back the Left’s constant drubbing (Democrats ran more than 5,600 spots on the abortion issue alone!). Even when McAuliffe hitched his campaign to a reviled law like ObamaCare (which even the President refused to mention on the stump), Democrats rallied around their own. And what did the Republican Establishment do? It starved their candidate, who happened to be one of the most prominent leaders in the legal fight against ObamaCare. That kind of reckless abandonment is inexcusable for a party that claims its first priority is repealing the policy that Ken Cuccinelli took to the Supreme Court.
Gary Bauer writing at Campaign for Working Families, and still another Virginia resident, adds to the complaints (this is his entire commentary, reprinted with permission): Don’t Believe the Spin
Here is the “conventional wisdom” about the results that you will hear from Big Media, liberals and some clueless Republicans: The Tea Party movement is dead. Abortion and values issues are killers. Republicans need to move to the center. That advice is poisonous and must be rejected.
Here is the reality of the race:
• Ken Cuccinelli was outspent 2-to-1. Michael Bloomberg, Planned Parenthood and even a liberal billionaire who wants to make climate change a major issue all jumped in against Cuccinelli with major negative ad campaigns.
• The business wing of the Republican establishment abandoned Cuccinelli. The Chamber of Commerce spent $1 million in 2009 to help elect Republican Bob McDonnell. It spent nothing to help Cuccinelli. Many traditional GOP donors in Richmond’s business community sat it out. They will now get the government they deserve — a pro-union, liberal governor will soon run the state.
• A “conservative” third party candidate was in the race. That libertarian spoiler got on the ballot thanks to a billionaire Obama supporter from Texas.
• The incumbent Republican governor was crippled by a financial scandal and may still face charges. As a result, he was unable to be an effective surrogate or fundraiser for Cuccinelli.
• Due to the heavy concentration of contract defense workers and federal employees in Virginia, the government shutdown probably hurt Cuccinelli.Yet in spite of all that, Cuccinelli lost by only 55,000 votes out of two million cast.
Look at it another way: One year ago Obama won Virginia 51% to 47%. A year later, an Obama clone ran against one conservative candidate and one candidate masquerading as a conservative, and the result was 48% for the liberal and 52% for the conservatives. That is a significant swing in our direction in a state we were told could no longer be won by a conservative.
Having cruised numerous Web sites we often see repeated variations on the superficial “wisdom” of what is an impossible bifurcation that “the Republican party needs to be fiscally conservative and socially liberal.” If they are serious about being effective on the fiscal front they are full of “it.”
One cannot be a coherent fiscal conservative and hope to achieve a smaller size to government, and not also be a responsible social conservative. The costs of crime, the breakdown in the family, marriage matters, drug use . . . the very culture is at stake and our fiscal problems are being driven by that social breakdown. Social issues drive spending issues. A successful solution to the nation’s ills is wrapped up with fiscal and social ills and protecting our freedoms with a strong defense. The proverbial three legged stool model applies. R Mall
