-
U.S. News: Obama-Kelley Meeting
May 20, 2013 | 0 comments
-
The SPLC: Big Bucks, the FRC, and Jimmy Carter
May 7, 2013 | 6 comments
-
Mark Levin Talks to the NRA
May 7, 2013 | 0 comments
-
POLITICO: RUSH LIMBAUGH MAY PART WITH CUMULUS
May 5, 2013 | 13 comments
-
The Problematic Frank Luntz’s Stockholm Syndrome
April 25, 2013 | 11 comments
The Spectacle Blog
My conservative friend Jim Geraghty over at NRO takes umbrage (that is what “stupidest” means, no?) at my Ruling Class article.
In fact, he applies the term “stupidest” as in an article that is the stupidest in the entire history of The American Spectator. Which means…since 1967? Now THAT’s a serious responsibility to bear! Gulp!
My offense?
I quoted him directly and correctly as saying:
With Christine O’Donnell, all we have are promises. We can’t evaluate her on her record in elected office because she has no record. O’Donnell seems determined to begin her political career by winning a U.S. Senate seat; she has never served in a local board of education, town or city council, state legislature, etc. Her next general-election victory will be her first.
What amazes here is that someone as smart as Jim (and he is that, no sarcasm intended) lays down a standard which Ronald Reagan himself failed utterly. Reagan never served a micro-second on a “local board of education, town or city council, state legislature, etc.”
Reagan went straight from private life to running for Governor of California, where his GOP Establishment critics said a version of exactly what Geraghty is saying of O’Donnell: “her next general-election victory will be her first.”
The fact that it seems not to occur to Jim that this is, as it were, Ruling Class reasoning — you must show us first you are one of us — really does surprise.
The founder of National Review ran a legitimate campaign for mayor of New York without a day in public office. Indeed, this very weekend, Judge and former U.S. Senator James Buckley, brother of Bill, will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of Young Americans for Freedom in Washington.
Does Jim Geraghty not realize that Jim Buckley failed the Jim Geraghty test along with Ronald Reagan? James Buckley had never for a second served in the legislature or the Congress or any other public office that I’m aware of before being elected U.S. Senator from New York in 1970. And, by the way, Buckley did that by opposing the Republican incumbent Senator Charles Goodell (a GOP Congressman appointed by Rockefeller to succeed Bobby Kennedy) and a Democratic Congressman, Richard Ottinger. New York voters, told repeatedly Buckley was a loser and extremist, elected him anyway — the one guy of the three with zero experience in political office.
The point here is that to insist as Jim does that one must somehow make one’s way upward through various approved offices before qualifying as a legit Senate candidate is itself a sign of Ruling Class reasoning.
I’m here to help Jim work his way through an apparent attack of outsider-phobia. This disease is not fatal, it can be treated. I’m here to help. Others are standing by.
View all comments (59) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Jeffrey Lord
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/09/10/nros-jim-geraghty-on-stupid-pa
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
Current Issue
- Nuts to Nutter
- Downton’s Class System — and Ours
- The Vast and the Tiny
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
H/T to National Review Online
ADVERTISEMENT
VA Blogger| 9.10.10 @ 3:38PM
I believe you're misreading what Geraghty wrote. He does not say that the only qualified candidates are those who first won a lower office. He was specifically making the point that Castle becoming the 42nd Republican Senator would not be the capitulation that many conservatives believe, and he backs this up using Castle's voting record. The paragraph you quoted is simply driving home the point that we know what we're getting with Castle (and its not as bad as people say), and we don't know what we're getting with O'Donnell.
Which is only half-true. We do know what we're getting with O'Donnell, and the more we see, the less impressive it gets. She is no Marco Rubio, Joe Miller, or Andy Lee, let alone a Ronald Reagan. She is a social conservative crusader who has opportunistically conformed to the Tea Party platform when she found, for the first time in her three campaigns, that she could get some support. She is also 100% unelectable in Delaware, making the effort to defeat Castle (and lose a near-guaranteed pick-up in the Senate) foolhardy.
Purple Lips| 9.10.10 @ 4:40PM
And Castle would be beneficial to the GOP in what way? Yes, he gives the GOP Senate a seat. Big deal. So did Jim Jeffords, Lowel Weicker, Bob Packwood, Arlen Specter, the Chaffees, Bob Gordon, and Chuck Hegel. What good did these men do for the GOP? Looking back these last 30 years, these men all undermined long term conservaitve legislation, sunk conservative judicial nominees, and all but caucused with the Democrats.
Believe it or not, much of what the average Joe detests about our national politics can be found in the personages of these RINOS. They have no principals save thier own careers, and hidden agendas. The voters voted as much against this kind of BS circa 2006-2008 as they did against the War in Iraq.
I have one prediction if Castle does win. The GOP will come to regret his victory.
JASmius | 9.10.10 @ 8:13PM
Of the RINOs you cite, only one of them represented a "red" state. In red (and swing or "purple) states, an O'Donnell-type insurgency makes sense, because if the "insurgent" wins, they can be competitive in the general campaign that follows. Not in states as "blue" as Delaware.
By all means, more power to the Joe Millers and Ken Bucks and Sharron Angles and Rob Johnsons - because they can win. Christine O'Donnell cannot. Winning elections is the way you compile majorities. And compiling majorities is the way you get as much of the conservative agenda enacted as possible. It's not "selling out" to acknowledge that self-evident fact. It's just reality.
Nolann Ryann| 9.10.10 @ 11:16PM
Toomey can't win either. Isn't that the reason the republican president ran to PA to save Specter? How'd that work out? This can't be elected is real nice when you have proof, i.e. lose the freaking election, but until that point your conjecture is just parroting the professional political class that gave us Nancy Pelosi in 2006.
smokedaddy| 9.10.10 @ 4:49PM
You know, I've seen the unelectable allegation thrown out by Geraghty & others dozens of times like you've done VA with no thought, analysis, or any kind of rationale assessment as to her real chances in the general. The fact is, given this election year, given that she will have been baptized by fire, and most importantly-given the support she'd be rightfully owed by Castle & his crowd, a ten percentage pt lead by Coons could easily be made up & then some. I think what's most disturbing with the Beltway/RINO mentality is not that we disagree on certain issues, but the refusal to treat those you disagree with with any respect or substantive arguments.
JASmius | 9.10.10 @ 8:21PM
To borrow one of Ace's terms, you're "wishcasting". And projecting by accusing O'Donnell *critics* of lacking thought, analysis, and rationality. See my comments here, at Campaign Spot (as well as Geraghty's, whose thoughtful, rational analysis got him somehow baptized into The Great RINOplasty), or follow my blog link.
Again, acknowledging that there are some places in the country where "true conservatives" can't win and it's better to take half a loaf than none at all, isn't "the Beltway/RINO mentality" - it's just the facts. The inherent overemotiveness of such arguments only communicate to me that their adherents need to remember who the real "enemy" is.
JASmius | 9.10.10 @ 8:03PM
Well said. I'd only add that Ronald Reagan already had national notoriety from his acting career (such as it was), his time as president of the Screen Actors' Guild, and years of speaking out on national issues for and from the embryonic conservative movement, capped by his "A time to choose" speech for Barry Goldwater in 1964. The latter is what led to his recruitment to run for California governor two years later (IOW, it was not first HIS idea).
Also, Bill Buckley lost that NYC mayoral race. But his brother was elected to the Senate, so for Jeff, one out of three isn't bad.
Kenneth E. MacAlister Jr.| 9.10.10 @ 4:05PM
VA Blogger, now that you've put your own head in the noose without the hangman's help he wants to know if you wouldn't mind pulling the trap door lever yourself. It's time for his coffee break.
RINO = leftist Democrat! What does it take to make that crystal clear?! There is nothing worse than kamikaze Republican voters!
Paul Zummo| 9.10.10 @ 4:14PM
Are you O'Donnell supporters even remotely capable of one intelligent comment? Every stinking comment on this blog is a pissy response to someone who hasn't brought into her candidacy. Yes, every single person who supports Castle or who thinks its best if he is the nominee is an establishment RINO, blah blah blah blah. It's getting tedious reading this bs.
Marko| 9.10.10 @ 4:24PM
Waaaaa.
Look here Paulie, RINO's are always ready to "reach across the aisle" in true bi-paritisanship. Of course, that means capitulating on ideals and supporting big government, big tyranny agendas.
RINO's = Progressives = Obama's friend = death to Liberty.
Pick a side.
Tim*| 9.10.10 @ 8:40PM
The liberal Americans for Democratic Action last year rated Casey the most liberal Republican in the House, voting the group's views 55 percent of the time.
Aaaand that's why We Tea Party Rebels Support Christine O'Donnell .
The Delaware Republican Primary is September 14th .
The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates .
Rise Up !
Tim*| 9.10.10 @ 8:42PM
Typo " Castle "
Rich Fisher| 9.11.10 @ 1:11PM
The real reason these RINOS say O'Donnel can't win is because it scares the crap out of them that she might. The more they say she can't the more I believe she probably can. Help her campaign. I sent a few bucks from Missouri to help her out. Put your money where your heart is and help elect O'Donnel.
JASmius | 9.10.10 @ 8:39PM
No, RINO does not equal "leftist Democrat". Mike Castle's ACU rating is 52.5, which pretty much by definition makes him a moderate, not a "leftist". And, for the record, he voted against the first "stimulus," he voted against ObamaCare, he favors its repeal, and yes, he voted for C&T. By Delaware standards, that number probably puts him in that state's GOP mainstream.
Transplant him to, say, Idaho, and I don't think any of us would be having this scintillating conversation. But then, in Idaho, somebody like Mike Castle probably wouldn't even BE a Republican in the first place.
But Castle IS running in Delaware, he IS a Republican, he IS a good fit for that state, and he's the GOP's only chance to pick up that seat.
It sounds to me like you guys' real quarrel is with Delawaries for not being enough like Idahoans.
Tell me, did you support Scott Brown's meteoric rise in Massachusetts last winter, or was he also a dirty, rotten, filthy RINO quisling you wanted consigned to the Outer Darkness with wailing and gnashing of teeth? Do you so condemn heretofore right-wing rock star Chris Christie for his "unfortunate" endorsement? Don't you see that this anti-majoritarianism leads to precisely the predicament the country is now in and trying desperately to escape?
Nick| 9.11.10 @ 12:10AM
Ah yes, the Idaho argument, again.
Who is writing these talking-points for you guys?
Also, Scott Brown ran on the fact that he would vote against O'BamaCare, remember?
What is Castle's position on voting to repeal it, JASmius?
Rich Fisher| 9.11.10 @ 1:14PM
You seem to forget, we elect Congressmen and Women to be a "fit" for the State. We elect Senators to be a fit for what's good for the country as a whole.
Mark| 9.10.10 @ 4:23PM
Do you pro-Castle people WANT Cap and Trade to pass? I'd like to know, because Castle will vote for it when Harry Reid brings it up in the lame duck session (which he said he would do, except under a different name). We know this because Castle already voted for it in the House. So, I'm curious. Please explain your position. Then explain why you would chose to NOT get behind a candidate who says she would NOT vote for it.
Thank you.
JASmius | 9.10.10 @ 8:52PM
Um, because that candidate will put Democrat Chris Coons in the Senate, who will DEFINITELY vote for C&T. Whereas under Quin Hillyer's suggested arrangement of getting a commitment from Castle not to cooperate in turning the lame duck session into a backdoor policy Donkapalooza - which he has already given in a general sense - that would not be a concern.
See, this is where you guys fall down and soil yourselves. There is *no* polling that indicates O'Donnell has a snowball's chance. Rasmussen - RASMUSSEN - has her down eleven. If she were in a dead heat like Sharron Angle is in Nevada, once again, there wouldn't be an issue.
Speaking for myself, I would resist any "pro-" or "anti-" label where either Castle or O'Donnell are concerned. I'm pro-conservative and pro-Republican, and both causes are best served by getting the right-most *electable* candidate into that Senate seat. And that candidate is not Christine O'Donnell. Period.
Why'ncha stop taking shots at us messengers and devote some skullsweat to pondering the message. 'cause the former isn't going to change the latter one jot or tittle.
Jonah| 9.10.10 @ 10:59PM
You're wrong; elect RINOs and we deserve the beat down we get.
Nick| 9.11.10 @ 12:02AM
JASmius,
Because the message stinks, that's why.
"[...] both causes are best served by getting the right-most *electable* candidate into that Senate seat."
The key word there is RIGHT, as in correct. Castle will never be the "right" candidate, ever.
He is a serial violator of the Constitution, just like any other democrat. He needs to be retired.
Kenneth E. MacAlister Jr.| 9.10.10 @ 4:25PM
Not as tedious as Arlen Specter & the Maine twosome voting for the Porkulous package though. RINO voters deserve to be ruled by leftists. Some just can't be saved from themselves. Support Castle. No one is stopping you. Don't cry though when he signs on to some ridiculous Obama legislation in the near future. That Republican majority after November's elections is not carved in stone.
Ryan Booth | 9.10.10 @ 4:26PM
This is completely disingenuous. Geraghty calls your article stupid because it accuses him of being part of the "ruling class." Am I now part of the ruling class because I don't think conservatives should support mentally disturbed liars? It is indeed stupid to think that you can get away with that kind of labeling and characterization and not get called on it.
Joe Sixpack| 9.10.10 @ 5:05PM
Mentally disturbed? If you don't think that all candidates spy on their opponents, you're naive.
Liars? These are politicians we are talking about right?
Warrior | 9.10.10 @ 5:33PM
I guess calling Ms. O'Donnell mentally disturbed and a liar does not count as labeling and characterization in your book.
Jack| 9.11.10 @ 3:54AM
It is better to be called a Liar by a Progressive or Rino, than to be called a Saint by the same.
Siegfried X| 9.10.10 @ 4:37PM
Geraghty is a RINO who cheers for every RINO candidate. He was McCain's biggest 2008 supporter.
Siegfried X| 9.10.10 @ 4:40PM
There is LOTS of discussion of RINO and party voting in the AmSpec article "The Ruling Class Hits Christine O'Donnell"
VASweetTea| 9.10.10 @ 5:26PM
Hello VA Blogger (from a fellow Va'n),
I have known Christine personally for 18 years. I know exactly what Delaware (and the rest of us) is/are getting. She has never even once tried to insinuate that she is the next Ronald Reagan or said that she is like Rubio. She is an honest to goodness citizen candidate who has a heart for what is good and right. She possesses traditional American values and comes from a classic American upbringing. The "less impressiveness" you speak of comes out of a lying pack of GOP Ruling Class statist elites. She has presented the truth to them and they CHOOSE to ignore it. She can relate to everyday Americans in the struggles she has faced. Would you rather have someone in the Senate who knows how hard it can be to make ends meet or someone who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth who has inherited millions and never had to sweat financially in his entire life?
So what if she hasn't won before. She's not running for President. She has NOT CONFORMED to the Tea Party Platform. She has always maintained these beliefs and values. Christine is not opportunistic. She is a true and loyal friend who is of the most authentic type. I remember conversations we had 18 years ago when she and I talked about political things, and the opinions, beliefs, passion and articulation I heard then hasn't changed and remain the same today.
She is not "unelectable". She reasonates with people and has a strong momentum going. Many of you say that simply out of fear. I hate what the leftist/statists are doing to America, as do many of you. She does too! We want to turn America around, not hand it over to another term of people who won't fight for our future and that's what's wrong with the political establishment today.
@Ryan Booth - mentally disturbed? Liar? You do not know her and don't know what you are talking about. So it's best you not speak at all in this area. She is very grounded, sane and HONEST. The liars and mentally disturbed here are Castle and DE GOP Chair Tom Ross (and other Republican Ruling Class members). Did you know that the Republican Senatorial Committee told Castle and Ross to fight her like this - to go vicious and smear her with these lies? Well, now you do.
As for the rest of you smear merchants and "I'll believe anything the RNC tells me" types, don't try your games with me. Don't tell me I'm wrong. I know the REAL Christine O'Donnell, YOU do not! She is a great woman, giving everything she has for a country we all love. The least you could do is show her some respect, as she never shown you anything less than that! Be gentlemen, not bar flies. Show some class for once! And if you don't know what you're talking about, don't talk.
Brooke| 9.10.10 @ 5:59PM
Terrific last paragraph, AT; I believe your words admonishing others to show some respect for Christine O'Donnell should be applied to Sarah Palin, too.
Behave like gentlemen; what a lovely concept.
Kenneth E. MacAlister Jr.| 9.10.10 @ 6:29PM
Very well put VA SweetTea. Unfortunately with the RINO crowd you may as well be talking to concrete. They only care about sheer numbers like The GOP "leadership" & value a RINO filled majority over putting conservatism back into not only The GOP, but the government as a whole over a period of time. It's all now or nothing. They DON'T WANT to get know Christine O'Donnell. The sad thing is they do know who Mike Castle is & will rationalize until the cows come home why he must be voted for. All for the sake of a Senate majority that might not even happen this election cycle. As for the last few sentences in your post, don't hold your breath. RINOs will result to tactics of the left to get more RINOs elected. RINOs are slaves who put the chains of modern liberalism on themselves.
Jack| 9.11.10 @ 3:51AM
Amen
Occam's Tool| 9.12.10 @ 9:37PM
I'm sorry; I thought that the Tea Party's REFUSAL to participate in Politics as Usual was what made them powerful. In my view, keep elcting Conservatives to run. Eventually you will win because "the facts of life are Conservative" and most voters will realize that. Stuck between a mealy mouthed Republican without spiritual strength and a Democrat who believes in something, the Conservatives will stay home and the Liberal will win. Bring out the Red Meat, and watch the upset.
sundesy| 9.10.10 @ 7:03PM
In this case the know devil is worse than the unknown.
In the Senate it is more important to vote on the right side. You do not need a demonstrated experience or advanced education to know not to vote for cap & trade, Sotomayor, Kagan, TARP, Stimulus and on & on. The voting is driven by the core values of the candidate. Christine O'Donnell has adequately demonstrated where she stands and what her core values are. We do not need a RINO and stab conservatives. We do not need to win the battle and lose the war. It is time, no compromise. We have too much at stake.
Vote for O'Donnell.
Nick| 9.10.10 @ 7:32PM
You know who else's first elective office was as governor? Mitt Romney.
I wonder how many of those at NR and WSJ, who are now denouncing Miss O'Donnell, will be supporting Mr. Romney in '12?
Longplay| 9.10.10 @ 8:14PM
Mr. Geraghty could have fallen into the political experiential moral equivalency trap, believing that if he considers Al Franken is unqualified because he has no experience in public office, he must then so consider anyone who hasn't been elected. Or is he saying O'Donnell's a comedian?
J.C.Eaton| 9.10.10 @ 9:39PM
VAST, your c0mments were refreshing. The recurring[virtually ALL of which cite no authority] ad hominem swipes at Ms. O'Donnell are repellant. Not just for their biliousness, but for their obnoxious indifference to no-class, prevaricating jerks who win high office wearing the mantle of Conservatism and then go wacko left for the sake of a few columns of type in the Post or Times and some bulls--t high-society dindins. Lefties got us here...lefties ain't gonna save us. Best,
O'Donnell is a nut| 9.10.10 @ 9:52PM
Can we please, please, for the love of God, quit comparing a lying, unemployed, paranoid quack of a candidate to Ronald freakin Reagan? Comparing O'Donnell to Reagan is like comparing a high school quarterback to Johnny Unitas.
Jonah| 9.10.10 @ 10:57PM
Who is paying you, Castle troll?
Nolann Ryann| 9.10.10 @ 11:22PM
Obviously you are on a break from placing yard signs for Castle. Have fun and enjoy the double cross when this admitted RINO sells out and is the deciding vote on cap and tax in a lame duck session. That is if he can even win the general. By the way why didn't he ever challenge Carper or Biden if he's such a great candidate for Delaware?
SoCon| 9.10.10 @ 11:50PM
Either that or he's the creep who was hiding in the bushes in front of O'Donnell's house. :)
Nick| 9.10.10 @ 11:53PM
You're right, nut-job, we shouldn't be comparing Miss O'Donnell to Ronald Reagan.
I would compare her more to George Washington, Samuel Adams, and Patrick Henry.
SoCon| 9.11.10 @ 12:33AM
Wow! That's some high praise, Nickk (ha!), Christine O'Donnell sounds like a great young woman.
Nolann Ryann| 9.11.10 @ 12:36AM
You know who will never ever be compared to Ronald Reagan? That would be the RINO Mike Castle. No wonder you can't stand the comparison in even an indirect manner. It illustrates the vapid logic you're spewing on here to excuse a vote for a career politician who is just as likely to abandon the GOP as to hang tough on issues that matter to the lowly serfs. Castle is great on the 2nd Amendment isn't he? Is that why the NRA went all in for him? Oh that's right he scores a D or an F depending on the year, thus the nut job got the nod. Of course your definition of a nut job is a politician that will kill cap and tax before it can metastasize and ruin the economy, vote for tax cuts, repeal socialized medicine, and god forbid vote against the leftists the great one nominates to the high court. How many "visualize world peace" and "coexist" bumper stickers is your Prius sporting?
Rich Fisher| 9.11.10 @ 1:21PM
I watched Unitas play for years and I wish you hadn't drug his name into this no class argument. He was a true class act and doesn't deserve to be named in this discussion. Namath and the Jets couldn't win the Super Bowl, either, but they showed up and played anyway. Oh, yeah, the pundits were wrong. They won.
Matt X| 9.10.10 @ 11:21PM
I like Jim most of the time but he does always seem eager to sell out on various issues, like global warming. I dont' think he had any response to Mark Levin pointing National Review's unneccessary and bizarre endorsement of McCain and over-the-top unbalanced hit job on JD for the commerical he did, same one that JC Watts also did.
Matt X| 9.10.10 @ 11:28PM
It seems to me that it would difficult for O'Donnel to be more crazy than Castle: Liberal Washington insider Mike Castle, who supports Obamacare, cap and trade, and voted for Tarp and opposes tax cuts.
Nolann Ryann| 9.10.10 @ 11:44PM
The Democrat you've just described, Oh sorry that is Mike Castle. So again he gives conservatives an advantage how? Oh that's right we get the speaker, but of course when it gets tough he'll wander across the aisle and undermine the Rs on issues that matter most to the lowly serfs. Castle is the type of politician that birthed the Nancy Pelosi speakership. He is a glaring example to independents that there isn't a dimes worth of difference in the two parties.
Matt X| 9.11.10 @ 2:40AM
Nolann, if you are an independent, what do you care if there is no difference between the parties? Generally people that call themselves independents are "centrists" that want the parties to work together. Mike Castle is independent, and that's the problem. I think using Castle as a example as there is no difference b/t the parties is hyperbole worthy of Glenn Beck.
Rich Fisher| 9.11.10 @ 1:25PM
Independent, horse hockey. The only thing an Independent is is a gutless wuss who won't take a side until he/she knows which side will win. We don't need to get along, we need to bury the Liberals and RINOS once and for all. I don't send my Congressman/Senator to Washington to get along, I send them there to be a complete horses butt in opposing anything the Libs propose.
Jack | 9.11.10 @ 3:44AM
Interesting, by the Rino logic, I could not be human for I have no experience at it. The only way to be human would be to have lived before, and , if I have, I do not remember that life. Electing a Castle type to serve the interest of the people would imply that, that is his MO. In this case "where's the beef", it is easy to pander to political winds, but difficult to actually serve your
Country and Constituancy at the same time when you are a RINO. O'Donnell is a refreshingly new face in a croud of corrupt old geizers, give her six years and put another refreshingly new face in office after her successful tenure at serving the USA and the Great State of Delaware. God help those "Progressives" that would thwart a move that is going to put us all "Back to the Future". (Removing Stupidest and gaining untried sounds very appealing to this Conservative.)
Jim S| 9.11.10 @ 11:07AM
With Castle you get another Snow or Collins. Numbers don't win the day they just give false hopes. You hope they are not going to desert you but know in your heart you can't trust them. Better to have lost.
Denis| 9.11.10 @ 12:39PM
I don't understand what the Castle supporters expect: that someone should support their preferred candidate even if he represents everything they despise about the GOP? How on earth are supposed to betray their principles and do such a thing. The Castleistas threaten that, if Castle doesn't win the primary, the Democrats will win the seat. How, exactly, is that a threat, if Castle would basically vote like the democrat?
There's a much bigger danger: the effect of Castle's victory in the primary on the credibility of the GOP. There's a reason why the NRSC has done so terribly in raising funds. It's not just Steele--it's the party brand, which the RINOs have damaged, and which is only just now starting to recover, in a limited way: people are giving to individual GOP candidates, but they are still refusing to support the NRSC.
The Castleites in the media are in danger of going the way of the NRSC.
Frankly, I never really took Geraghy, Allahpundit, Ed Morrisey that seriously. Their prognostications and calculations--the political version of fantasy football--were always laughably inaccurate. But they never really got on my nerves, because they seemed sincere, even if a little silly. Now they've become insufferable, and their overblown warnings about the plagues that will afflict America if Castle doesn't win have, I suspect, become a motivator to the O'Donnell supporters. It worked that way on me. I knew nothing about her before they started supporting Castle. Now I'm considering sending money to her. Thanks Castleistas!
Rich Fisher| 9.11.10 @ 1:28PM
I was hoping that a class magazine would have only class people blogging. That was a mistake. If you took all the posts off here that inferred that someone was a low class ignorant moron for not agreeing with their ideas there wouldn't be much left. Surely most of you are educated enough to make an argument without disparaging your opponent. Disagree to the death but it only makes you look like the low class uneducated boobs you are when you cast aspersions on your opponent. Typical Liberal/RINO tactic, though, if you can't win the argument with your ideas then attack the character and intelliegence of the other side.
Quartermaster| 9.11.10 @ 5:32PM
Rich, did you expect anything else from the Ruling Party?
National Review was tame years ago while Buckley still lived. He went quite squishy as he aged.
The Hot Air types really aren't much different, frankly. They are a bit more conservative, but they suffer the same weaknesses as other human beings.
I used to hold elective office in Ohio as a Republican. Some these state parties are utterly worthless. The Ohio GOP hated Ken Blackwell, and shamed themselves by supporting Robert Taft instead, who gave them scandal and a deeply wounded brand in the state. Unfortunately, that is the real history of the GOP. It started as a left-wing party, and gave us a regional president in Lincoln, who proceeded to destroy the republic and re-found the country. The current crop of RINOs are actually in that mainstream, and that is the last thing we need as a country. Castle is right in there with that bunch.
Siegfried X| 9.11.10 @ 6:10PM
The Illinois GOP destroyed itself in much the same way, by acting like left-wing Democrats. The last in a line of RINO governors, George Ryan, pardoned all the murders on death row, while on his own way to Federal prison for corruption. In the election shortly after the voters gave Democrats every elected statewide office. The Illinois Republican Party has been a dead, smoldering hulk ever since.
In fact the process has gone so far, and the Republican name hated so much that the voters seem to be starting to think of the Green Party as the second party, the alternative to the Democrats. It is growing like a weed and has full ballot access.
Matt X| 9.11.10 @ 10:39PM
The only difference between the Green Party and the Democratic party is at least Democrats are smart enough to lie about their liberalism in general elections. The Green party isn't growing like weedss anywhere.see Ralph Nader.
mzk1| 9.12.10 @ 8:36PM
IIRC correctly from my childhood, there also was a candidate on the :oberal ticket who split the vote. It is also interesting to note that Buckley was attacked for refusing earmarks, or the equivalent at the time. Since he was about the only one, this was considered unconditional surrender. He was just ahead of his time.
(I think it was Moynihan who succeeded him, partly on the basis of getting some pork. Not that he wasn't a good senator.)
mzk1| 9.12.10 @ 8:37PM
Liberal