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GOP scrambles to fix its primary problem
Politico ^ | January 4, 2013 | Jonathan Martin

Posted on 01/04/2013 12:49:00 PM PST by Bratch

The disastrous 2012 election and embarrassing fiscal cliff standoff has brought forth one principal conclusion from establishment Republicans: They have a primary problem.

The intra-party contests, or threat thereof, have become the original sin that explains many of the party’s woes in the minds of GOP leaders. It’s the primaries that push their presidential nominees far to the right (see “self-deportation” and “47 percent”); produce lackluster Senate candidates (Todd Akin has almost become a one-word shorthand); and, as seen most vividly in the last two weeks, dissuade scores of gerrymandered House members from face-saving compromise while politically emasculating their speaker.

What to do about the primaries has become Topic A in many a post-election Republican soul-searching session, and now the first steps are being taken to address the issue. For Senate Republicans, that means a modified return to their 2010 posture of openly playing in primaries. A retiring House Republican is starting a super PAC to help House members challenged from the right. And an RNC commission is mulling over changes to the party’s presidential primary.

In the Senate, where at least five GOP losses in the past two election cycles could be attributed to primaries, Republican leaders are planning to intervene in selected 2014 races to ensure preferred candidates win the nomination.

High-profile Senate Republicans are going to try to pre-empt bloody primaries with aggressive, early recruitment and support — effectively trying to clear fields.

(Excerpt) Read more at dyn.politico.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: gope; gopprimary; noninclusive; partisanmediashills; politico; rinos
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To: Bratch
They better be more concerned with the Independent Party....

Plenty of ex-Pubbies I know...are re-registering.

41 posted on 01/04/2013 2:08:55 PM PST by Osage Orange (MOLON LABE)
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To: Perdogg
Canadian's?

Whatever........

42 posted on 01/04/2013 2:12:56 PM PST by Osage Orange (MOLON LABE)
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To: Bratch; hummingbird; kristinn; All

Our Political System is dependent upon the system that the candidate with the most votes wins. Thus, in a race with 3 candidates, the winner could win with 33 % of the votes cast plus one vote.

The major problem is that it is nearly impossible for one of the two largest parties to lose. Hence, there is NO change.

The two largest parties, call them ‘Tweedle Dumb’ and ‘Tweedle Dumber,’ will fight tooth and nail to prevent an election rule change to stipulate that the winning candidate must get 50 % of the votes cast plus one vote.

Thus, until election laws are changed to permit the 50 % plus one vote victory rule, a third party, such as the Tea Party, will be seen as a voter block at best.

IMHO, the best course is to dedicate a given amount of ya’lls time between now and November, 2014 to taking over the sorry RINO functions in your local area, County and State.

State at your first meeting your primary goals, and ask all in attendance to “Lead, Follow, or GET OUT OF THE WAY!”


43 posted on 01/04/2013 2:13:33 PM PST by Graewoulf ((Traitor John Roberts' Commune Obama"care" violates Anti-Trust Laws, AND the U.S. Constitution.))
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To: traditional1
I would love to see Sarah Palin and Allen West collaborate to start a 3rd Party RIGHT NOW,

************

Plenty of 3rd parties out there now. All they have to do is hitch onto one and have some semblance of a structure in place. The question becomes which one and really is Palin/West going to be the leaders?

44 posted on 01/04/2013 2:20:30 PM PST by deport
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To: Bratch

In states where they control the legislature and Governor, they could start by requiring a runoff when no primary candidate gets a majority. That would at least put an end to candidates who couldn’t win a majority of the Republican vote getting the nomination because they got 32% in a six way race. It would also greatly reduce the incentive for Democrats to run ads aimed at getting an idiot, Akin, the nomination. If the best they can do is get an Akin into a runoff, they are far less likely to bother.


45 posted on 01/04/2013 2:40:45 PM PST by Pilsner
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To: Bratch
They either don't "get it," or they "get it" and don't want any part of being affiliated with the conservative movement. Either way, if they continue to treat conservatives like the plague the GOP will go under because the conservatives will indeed leave the party and start a new one.

I wonder if this comment will need to be reviewed as well? Guess we'll see......

46 posted on 01/04/2013 3:10:10 PM PST by ducttape45 (Can you tell I'm angry?)
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To: deport

The GOP-e is still seething over what hoops they had to jump through to save Murkowski’s seat from Miller.


47 posted on 01/04/2013 3:11:48 PM PST by txhurl
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To: txhurl

Yep that was some hoops to be able to win that election via a write in process.


48 posted on 01/04/2013 3:21:32 PM PST by deport
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To: erkelly; JRandomFreeper
And I suspect that chosen nominee is Jeb Bush.

Bingo. Backwards planning is taking place. Bush trial balloon threads are already showing up on FR with regularity. By spring, 2015 we'll see full blown Jeb glory threads liberally smattered with glamor images of the Bush clan. Count on it.

49 posted on 01/04/2013 3:41:52 PM PST by TADSLOS (I took extra credit at the School of Hard Knocks)
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To: Perdogg
You can go to a third party, but don’t expect electoral success any time soon.

I'm not sure how much more Republican "success" we can stand. If this is "winning", how bad can "losing" be?

Remember that the last real Republican governing coalition was forged from the right, through Reagan. Freed from the stench of today's GOP-E, we could at least attempt to rebuild that coalition. It's clear the leaders of today's party stand for nothing except extending their own influence.

50 posted on 01/04/2013 3:46:50 PM PST by Colonel_Flagg ("Don't be afraid to see what you see." -- Ronald Reagan)
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To: Bratch

It appears that I am their problem. Fine. I will place my vote elsewhere.


51 posted on 01/04/2013 3:49:13 PM PST by Some Fat Guy in L.A. (Still bitterly clinging to rational thought despite it's unfashionability)
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To: TADSLOS
In that case, I'll actively campaign against Jeb, like I did against Mitt. Door to door, neighbor to neighbor, to family and friends.

Those here on FR that don't like that, now have motivation to see that the GOP-E doesn't cheat again and get him nominated.

/johnny

52 posted on 01/04/2013 3:52:15 PM PST by JRandomFreeper (Gone Galt)
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To: mrsmith
"If the RINOs and conservatives in the Party don’t start working together for their common good there won’t be a Republican Party."

GOPe Translation:

If conservatives don't abandon every one of their principles, celebrate/embrace socialism and BOHICA, there won't be a republican party.

My answer to the GOPe, what's a republican!

I didn't leave the republican party. The republican party left me.

53 posted on 01/04/2013 4:08:30 PM PST by Waryone
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To: JRandomFreeper

Run mittens again... lol

Or rather puke in technicolor.


54 posted on 01/04/2013 4:19:11 PM PST by txhurl
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To: Bratch
GOP scrambles to fix its primary problem

They found a place that sells tentacles?

55 posted on 01/04/2013 4:25:13 PM PST by publius911 (Look for the Union Label -- then buy something else)
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To: Bratch

The neo-Nazi propagandist Jonathan Martin should not be allowed a stage on FR. He should be villified and identified as neo-Nazi scum everytime he appears.

IMO, we don’t need Nazi liars and scum on FR to confuse weak-minded liberals who infiltrate FR.


56 posted on 01/04/2013 4:27:10 PM PST by sergeantdave (The FBI has declared war on the Marine Corps)
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To: Gaffer
if he votes for anything in the way of a debt ceiling increase without a 1:1 reduction in spending. I’d sooner see a Democrat in those spots if they are going to act like Democrats.

Anything less than a 1:3 reduction in spending is like reducing the speed to oblivion by 0.5 mph...

57 posted on 01/04/2013 4:33:54 PM PST by publius911 (Look for the Union Label -- then buy something else)
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To: Bratch

Darn right they have a problem. And we have a fight on.


58 posted on 01/04/2013 6:21:55 PM PST by SueRae (It isn't over. In God We Trust.)
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To: Perdogg
...it took a revamped and rebranded Canadian conservative party 13 years before it had any electorial success.

Yes, but look how many years we've already lost/wasted voting for the GOPe selected RINO's - because they're *better than the opposition*. Where's that gotten us?

59 posted on 01/04/2013 6:27:47 PM PST by Jane Long (Philippians 2:11)
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To: Bratch
America's Party
60 posted on 01/04/2013 6:33:27 PM PST by EternalVigilance (Real republicans are loyal to the core principles of the republic. www.aprealrepublicans.com)
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