A Message Has Been Sent to the GOP Establishment

In recent weeks Alaska and Delaware have become the setting for a battle between the GOP establishment and the commonsense conservative movement. A few weeks ago, Joe Miller's win in Alaska GOP senatorial campaign sent political shockwaves throughout the nation, as a conservative, Tea Party candidate defeated a RINO, establishment incumbent. The National Republican Senatorial Committee released a short statement of support for Joe Miller following his victory However, their statement is essentially all the support that they have given to the Miller and the commonsense conservative movement.

Within the last week, Christine O'Donnell received the support of America's leading conservative voice, Governor Palin, Congress's leading conservative voice, Michele Bachmann, and the Senate's leading conservative voice, Jim DeMint. What did that lead to? O'Donnell defeated RINO, Establishment backed candidate, Mike Castle, by a considerable margin. Of course, such news leaves Establishment commentators and pundits with their proverbial panties in a wad. Former Bush advisor, Karl Rove, proves to serve this point rather well:



Interestingly, the candidate whom Rove preferred to win once voted for an impeachment resolution for his former boss, President Bush, but I digress. Suffice it to say, for the Establishment, party politics trump party principles, even going so far as attempted deal making.

A "top Republican official" shared similar sentiments to Rove's following O'Donnell's win:

"Until she demonstrates some viability in the polls we are not going to have any money for her," a top Republican official told CNN. "It is now incumbent on Sarah Palin, Jim DeMint and the Tea Party Express to help support her. They got her here. Now make it happen."

Mike Castle has already stated that he will not be endorsing O'Donnell in the general election, and when asked if the NRSC should support O'Donnell in the general election, a campaign operative said, " they should save their money."

The Tea Party Express has replied:

"We encourage the NRSC to take a night off, get some sleep, and reconsider their rash statements. It is because of inexcusable conduct in Delaware and Alaska that so many conservatives have turned to the Tea Party Express, offering their support and their donations.These people have lost faith in the NRSC as just another big-government, Washington, D.C.-based organization that has contributed to the problems this country currently faces.

"If the NRSC is committed to defeating Democrats in November, then it is time for them to honor their mission statement and do just that. If they fail to do so, then they can expect millions of conservatives to continue to steer their donations and volunteer hours elsewhere.

"Wake up NRSC, the reason the tea party movement has grown into such a powerful force is because of the failures of establishment organizations such as yours to honor the principles of the Republican Party platform. You tried to force through the most liberal Republican in Congress on the voters of Delaware and they rejected you. Wake up, you are defying your own base, and will end up an irrelevant and impotent organization that serves to only amuse the corrupt political establishment in Washington, D.C."

We often hear of Governor Palin saying, "the planks in the Republican platform are strong", and the Tea Party Express echos these sentiments in their statement. When you look at the candidates the NRSC has supported--Murkowski and Castle-- you see candidates who have supported cap and trade initiatives, who don't support repeal of Obamacare, and who are not pro-life. Are these the kind of strong planks that the Republican party stands upon? The obvious answer is "no".

Much of the Establishment and the GOP have not supported conservative candidates and have even called endorsements by conservative leaders like Governor Palin, who do support the conservative candidate, "destructive","irresponsible", and "capricious". However, the American people have spoken with their voice (and their campaign dollars), and the people of Alaska and Delaware have spoken with their vote. If you don't stand on the planks of the party, you will end up walking the proverbial plank to your own political peril. A "big tent" Republican party is a noble goal, but it is bound only to collapse if its stakes are driven into shallow ground of inconsistent, moderate principles. A message has been sent. It's not about political establishment; it's about political platform. It's not about supposed political expediency; it's about political principles.
This race is also about party unity and the GOP establishment realizing the the candidate to their ideological Left is the true opponent, not the candidate on their ideological Right. Some say that primary wins for candidates like O'Donnell spell a loss of a chance at a Republican majority in the Senate, but what's more important? A Republican majority or a conservative majority? Is the GOP establishment more concerned with putting politicians into office with a "R" behind their name or candidates whose policy positions represent what that "R" truly stands for? Governor Palin called for party unity, as did O'Donnell. If the Republican establishment does not stand behind the candidate that bears their name, they have defeated themselves and have handed victory to the Democrats. A message has been sent to the Republican establishment; it's time for the Republican establishment to join with the commonsense conservative movement to send a message to the Democrats.


Crossposted here.