Just a few days ago I was reading how conservatives would say that the GOP’s problem was that Senate leader Howard Baker compromised too much with Democrats, so we needed someone firm like Bob Dole; then we needed to get rid of Dole and get someone strong like Trent Lott; then we needed to get rid of Lott and get a principled conservative like Bill Frist; then we needed to drop Frist and replace him with someone who would stand up to Democrats like Mitch McConnell ... you get the picture.
The GOP leader in the Senate will never be perfect, and he usually will compromise more than we would like from our couches at home, particularly when the Democrats are in the majority. While I would prefer someone like Jeff Sessions presiding over the Senate, I’m afraid that even Sessions soon would be labeled a RINO because he didn’t defund the Executive Branch or something.
Yes.
Some people seem to think that if McConnell loses to the rat then Cruz or Sessions or some other “true conservative” will then be the leader and all will be right with the world.
More than likely it would be Cornyn, maybe as the minority and not majority leader. That sound like a good idea to anyone?
And indeed even if a Ted Cruz or a Jeff Sessions became leader, how long before that role makes some people see him as “RINO scum”. Best recipe for making Ted Cruz the most hated man around here? Make him the leader. I think you gotta go back to Ev Dirksen to find a Senate leader that anyone remembers fondly. Nature of the job unfortunately makes them compromise too much.
Look at Eric Cantor, he was very well liked by conservatives. Now he’s LOATHED by some to the point that people are wasting their time promoting a desultory challenger to him.
One thing is certain, electing some commie witch to a 6 year Senate term to replace someone who’s voted 90% Conservative would be a major step in the wrong direction.