[... W]inning elections doesn't happen by just demanding "purity" and throwing a temper tantrum when that doesn't happen. Believe it or not, temper tantrums don't win elections. This is something we often have to grapple with on the left, but now we're seeing this unfold on the right at a level that I've never seen before. [...]
Ron Paul's supporters care deeply for their libertarian beliefs, and they're set to accept nothing less than full fealty to those beliefs. But in pursuing complete ideological purity, they're also set to lose a whole lot of elections because they simply don't care about that stuff. This is why Nevada Republicans are in such dire straits. And it should serve as an important lesson to all the rest of us trying to balance ideological wishes with political reality.
Hey, we tried. It just sucks for them that they refused to listen to us. Instead, the Nevada Republican Party keeps doubling down on crazy.
We've said it before, but we must say it again today. Sharron Angle likely has more control over the Nevada Republican Party than anyone who's actually supposed to be a "leader" in Carson City or DC. As much as Brian Sandoval would like to deny it and John Boehner would like to hide it, that's the awful and crazy truth that we saw unfold over the course of this year.
Never mind that Sharron Angle currently holds no elected office and has no official position with the Nevada Republican Party. She and her "TEA Party, Inc." BFFs have provided the ideology that's now the heart and soul of today's Republican Party. And as a result, many Republicans are still defending their crazy actions.
This is why we weren't surprised by the debut of the new Nevada Republican Party pre-primary endorsement questionnaire. This is also why we weren't surprised by the decision of Neena Laxalt and Sue Wagner to leave the Nevada Republican Party. And this is why we're not surprised by the newest episode of "Republicans Eating Their Own".
As the state and national Republican Party continue to fracture into "a million little pieces", Republican "leaders" keep trying to find hot new ways to put all those pieces back together. They've tried new technology. They've tried new "principles". They've tried "rebranding". They've tried "reinvention". And it probably won't be long before they try an "intervention from Jesus".
Have they ever thought about trying to quit their addiction to Sharron Angle's Kool-Aid? No matter how hard they try, no amount of meaningless cosmetic changes can cure the illness that's been caused by the poison they've been drinking for far too long. If they want to survive, let alone heal, they need to drop the Kool-Aid.
No comments:
Post a Comment