Posted on 11/01/2009 5:33:44 PM PST by nickcarraway
Richard Viguerie, the legendary hard-right activist who spent much of the past decade arguing that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were too liberal, now declares that: "Tea Party Activists Are the New GOP."
There is little reason to argue with the man whose direct-mail campaigning funded the rise of the Republican right in the late 1970s and who grumbled loudly when Newt Gingrich, Bush, Cheney and Republican leaders tried to soften the party's roughest edges. Viguerie isn't grumbling now.
He's celebrating. And rightly so.
With the decision of moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava, the party's nominee in New York state special election for an open congressional seat, to suspend her campaign, the new "new right" -- which Viguerie describes as "Tea Party activists, town hall protesters, and conservatives across the country" -- can claim a clear victory in its struggle to define the GOP as a far more extreme party than that envisioned by Bush, Cheney or Gingrich. Scozzafava, a state legislator, had the Republican ballot line and support from the party apparatus in Washington. But Tea Party and Town Hall activists -- and their mentors and funders such as former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, and the powerful Club for Growth -- threw their support behind Doug Hoffman, a more right-wing contender running on the New York Conservative Party line.
Scozzafava took a beating for her support for gay rights and abortion rights, her alliances with organized labor and her sympathy for the plight of the unemployed.
The attacks were brutal and they dried up financial support for the GPO nominee's campaign -- even though she began as a presumed frontrunner in New York's historically Republican 23rd district, where the seat went vacant after President Obama nominated moderate Republican Congressman John McHugh to serve as Secretary of the Army.
Reactionary Republicans, led by 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, threw their support to Hoffman. With her poll numbers tanking, Scozzafava finally gave up with just three days to go before Tuesday's election. Now that the GOP nominee is out of the running, Hoffman is well positioned to compete with Democratic newcomer Bill Owens in a race to fill a seat that has not elected a Democrat in more than a century.
Scozzafava pointedly refused to make an endorsement, suggesting that her supporters -- who polling suggests have more generally favorable views of President Obama than those expressed by Hoffman's rigidly anti-Obama campaign -- vote their consciences in Tuesday's special election.
No matter what its contours, the Hoffman-Owens result will be a footnote to the Scozzafava-Hoffman saga. As GOP strategist Paul Erickson told The Washington Post with regard to the latter struggle: "This is entirely a battle over the definition and winning formula for Republican candidates going into the midterm elections of 2010 and beyond."
Erickson's point is well taken.
Republicans who have tried to move party back toward the political mainstream, after a three-year losing streak that has cost the GOP control of the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate and the White House, are frustrated -- and a little bit scared. As Gingrich, who backed the decision of local Republican leaders to nominate Scozzafava, explained: "I think we are going to get into a very difficult environment around the country if suddenly conservative leaders decide they are going to anoint people without regard to local primaries and local choices."
Republican strategist John Weaver, a veteran aide to 2008 presidential nominee John McCain, echoed that theme. "Because of what's happened, we're going to have some mischief-making, which is not positive for a party that needs to really focus on other fundamentals in order to make a comeback," explains Weaver.
But Gingrich, Weaver and other advocates for mainstreaming the GOP have been beaten. Badly. And Viguerie and his crew get the bragging rights. Calling the developments in the New York race "an earthquake in American politics," the right-wing strategist predicted that it would be "the first of many challenges to establishment Republicans that we will see for the 2010 elections and beyond." Viguerie is right.
And it is not just the party of Lincoln or the old "Rockefeller Republicans" that is being broken. Gingrich and those conservatives who argued for broadening the party's base have suffered a serious blow. The GOP is now, as Richard Viguerie says, the party of "the Tea Parties and their candidates."
The question, of course, is whether a GOP defined by "the Tea Parties and their candidates" can compete not just in New York's 23rd district -- where the party has always won -- but across the great expanse of a country where the party has in recent years been losing.
If Viguerie and his compatriots are correct, it is not just the Republican Party but America that is about to take the most rightwing turn in its history.
If Viguerie and his compatriots are wrong, the Grand Old Party could be turning toward a permanent minority status that only the most enthusiastic Democrats dared imagine. Gingrich, ever the wise analyst, is anticipating -- or perhaps the proper word is "dreading" -- the latter result.
Said the former speaker of the GOP: "This makes life more complicated from the standpoint of this: If we get into a cycle where every time one side loses, they run a third-party candidate, we'll make Pelosi speaker for life and guarantee Obama's re-election."
As Gingrich, who backed the decision of local Republican leaders to nominate Scozzafava, explained:
“I think we are going to get into a very difficult environment around the country if suddenly conservative leaders decide they are going to anoint people without regard to local primaries and local choices.”
This is just the kind of idiocy that will keep the Republicans in the minority forever!...geez Newt, get a clue! It’s too bad that he has changed so - he used to be a bright spot for the Republican Party.
If you really want to grab political strength, then just grab hold of the momentum that the Tea Party started - otherwise, just please get out of the way! You are a Republican dinosaur and just don’t know it yet. Yes, you have become a clown (but hey, the insiders still think your the best)!
Has anyone seen any recent polling from New Jersey?
Hilarious that the communist Nation magazine, and its pathetic Maosit contributors, would dare to call anyone else an extremist.
THERE WAS NO PRIMARY NEWT. Scozzafava was hand picked by local GOP Dons.
This idiot assumes that creeping socialism is “mainstream”. Conservatism is the real mainstream and by having a clear choice between Conservatives and socialist, the real American voters will overwhelmingly support Conservatives.
Gingrich and other grand poobahs forget the dismal record that recent RINO’s have had. Do the names Spector, Jeffords, and Snowe mean anything to him? We are a Center nation, but somehow the Left have all the reigns of power. Why in the world is that? Because every time a seat leans to the Right, the GOP appoints a Liberal to it! When conservatives complain, they tell us that we cannot expect to have people representing us to be 100% conservative. If the district is 50-50, we should be ok with people who agree with us 50-50. Then they appoint someone who disagrees with us 90% of the time!!! This is the reason why there was a revolt in NY. They appointed someone who is simply not acceptable to us. Knowing that the acceptability standard just shifted to the right, is the main victory for conservatives. I believe Hoffman will win for the simple fact that conservatives and independents are more passionate to send a counter-balance to Pelosi’s extremists.
Extremists are now running the country. An opposite extreme is needed to fight them.
New tagline...
Good grief! Is Gingrich really this out of touch and uninformed? The very problem with Scozzafava stemmed from her NOT being tested in the primary process, but rather "anointed" by the very same elitist process that Gingrich complains about, albeit by liberals rather than Conservatives. And Hoffman won this against the odds because he DOES represent the views and opinions and aspirations of the people of the 23rd.
RINO hunt comin’ up.
The liberals taking over the party and pushing it toward the big government high spending Leftis what has caused and maintains the Republican party's "losing streak." The farther to the left the Party ventures the more it loses. Why vote for johnny-com-lately-hey!-me-too leftists when you can vote for the Real Thing- the Democrats.
The MSM keeps calling Dede Scozzafava a moderate. The truth is she’s an out-and-out liberal. She was an ACORN supporter, for crying out loud. Moderates wouldn’t support a fringe group like that.
Yeah, because believing in smaller government, individual rights & fiscal responsibility is "extreme" to a socialist "mainstream" writer. If so, I'm all for "extreme." Somehow I don't think Cheney belongs on the socialist's list.
“Republican strategist John Weaver, a veteran aide to 2008 presidential nominee John McCain, echoed that theme. “Because of what’s happened, we’re going to have some mischief-making, which is not positive for a party that needs to really focus on other fundamentals in order to make a comeback,” explains Weaver.”
McCain’s campaign was eat up with dumb asses.
I suspect that somewhere in the bowels of the WhiteHouse basement there are a cabal of rulers who actually do get the real picture. They cannot be happy and do not share this idiot's sanguine analysis.
When you’re that far to the left, anyone sane looks “extreme” to you.
Yes... Poll numbers out of New Jersey show that a majority of these folks believe that Corzine looks like a skid-row bum and they regret having that socialist thing serve in the US Senate. They feel a shave and a buzz cut would be nice, but he'd still be a socialist with no ideas.
They should be, since they're responsible for the losing streak due to their liberal approach of attempting to impose Democrat-lite and move the party "back toward the political mainstream," which according to the writer would be socialism. When you're a hard left communist, I guess the current wild dash to socialism and takeover of the private sector by the government seems "mainstream."
When I was young and foolish, I used to read the Nation religiously. These days, Time and Newsweek are indistinguishable from the Nation.
Good answer!
Yeah, if believing in smaller government, individual rights and fiscal responsibility is now "extreme," then count me in. I'm getting used to wearing my new "extremist" badge with pride.
Most polls have Christie and Corzine within the margin of error, ie tied.
The Marshmallow party is the wave of the future. Millions of people who refuse to take a stand on anything. Relativism and equivalency will be the standard.
Yeah... that ought to work.
"Reactionary Republicans, led by 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, threw their support to Hoffman."
Nick, where is our Barf Alert?
The three year losing streak was caused by the following:
2006 - Bush supported comprehensive immigration (amnesty) - GOP promptly lost control of the house and were tied in the senate.
2007 - GOP continued to move to the RINO middle
2008 - GOP nominates John McCain who has a record of constantly attacking the conservative base as he tried to look good to liberals and the New York Tomes
Finally after 2008's disaster and the subsequent attempts by Lord 0bama and the new socialists to transform American society, the grassroots spoke up in the form of Tea Partys and townhall meetings. Since then we've been trying to restore the winning strategy of Ronald Reagan.
MODERATE Republican???? 'Scuse me, bro, but I don't think so. LIBERAL Republican, yes.
He hasn't changed a bit! - Anyone that ever saw that socialist as a bright spot must have glowing cataracts.
Why doesn’t the TEA PARTY run it’s own candidates and the hell with the Republican Party.
I keep reading these articles and the comments.
Unless the GOP leadership, WAKES UP, which I firmly believe they won’t...2010 will be the battle of the third party.
The GOP left me, literally LEFT me. They changed, I didn’t.
The leadership is so far out there, they don’t care. I wish I could say they would change to keep their power, but I can’t even say that. They fail to realize where their power comes from and when one forgets that, then it is ripe for the picking.
If the GOP leadership haven’t learned a lesson from NY-23, then it is time for the GOP to retire.
Might be right... But he did inspire the Republican revolution and for that I am happy that I was a part of it.
He has seemed to morph into the elitist GOP type only in the last few years to me but I could be mistaken. He did and does have good ideas from time to time regarding politics. I guess he has simply gone over to the dark side...
A shake up is exactly what’s needed. The grand poobah’s that failed need to fade into the background and be replaced by people who can bring a new vision to the party.
He sabotaged the revolution, he didn’t inspire it.
Just the way he shot Bob Dornan down should be enough to see what he always was. We could use a hundred Bob Dornans about now!
Gingrich is just another progressive from The New Party hiding behind the big (R)...They’re all hoping and praying they don’t go down with the sinking looney left ship.
Sorry - disagree... He did lead the Conservative Republican revolution back in the day... He just has become one of the establishment elite after several years...
Thank you for the reminder of NO PRIMARY. That was left to the party leaders...not the people!
I hope we can make people realize what a big reason that is for this entire saga. I wish for it to be repeated over and over.
You’re just not a good Newt watcher.
Stick around, and learn; there’s got to be more to come. For Newt, this is small stuff.
I don’t disagree with his actions today - but are you old enough to remember the Conservative Revolution - Contract for America? He did have his day and had lots of conservative confidence then. Today - not much.
The “Contract with America” was his attempt to jump on the bandwaghon, and it almost snuffed the ‘revolution.’
You have to go back into the ‘80s and look at his record. He’s akways been a big spender, and has supported all the entitlement programs that he pretended to be against in his ‘contract.’
Okay - I will just disagree and politely sign off regarding his earlier efforts. Nice talking to ya...
“I think we are going to get into a very difficult environment around the country if suddenly conservative leaders decide they are going to anoint people without regard to local primaries and local choices.”
What the heck are these guys talking about? They are the ones anointing people. Not the conservatives.
She wasn’t selected in a primary, she was the one anointed.
Fire these suckers, Fire Steele fire them all, If we need to push these people’s candidates outside the GOP we will
This country is bankrupt, if that is right wing, so be it.
We can’t afford the Republicans or the Democrats.
The conservatives are the one barely allowed in the tent.
Thanks.
Interesting take on this.
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