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Report: GOP Establishment Plotting to Oust Conservative Leader Sen. Mike Lee
breitbart.com ^ | 12/23/14 | Tony Lee

Posted on 12/23/2014 12:32:01 PM PST by cotton1706

Some prominent moderate establishment Republicans in Utah are plotting to target conservative icon Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) with a primary challenge in 2016.

Lee’s offense? He didn’t drink the Washington Kool-aid and see the D.C. cesspool as a jacuzzi after he ousted incumbent Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT), who had supported the TARP bailouts, in 2010.

When Lee prevailed over Bennett, he gave other conservatives across the country hope that they could also defeat entrenched incumbents who cared more about preserving the status quo above all else. Once Lee arrived in Washington, he didn’t turn his back on the base, which angered some prominent establishment Republicans.

According to a report in Politico, moderate GOP billionaires like Jon Huntsman Sr. and “some powerful establishment Republicans in Utah are tired” of Lee’s conservatism and willingness to live up to his campaign promises instead of letting the D.C. establishment co-opt him.

During his first Senate term, Lee has established himself as one of conservatism’s leading voices. As Politico implies, establishment Republicans do not like him because he stood with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to defund Obamacare and has supported defunding Obama’s executive amnesty with Sens. Cruz and Jeff Sessions (R-AL). Most recently, Lee has offered positive solutions via his conservative reform agenda that specifically focuses on improving the lives of working Americans with conservative policies.

Huntsman, the father of President Barack Obama’s former Ambassador to China and failed 2012 GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, reportedly has refused to meet with Lee because of his “extremely radical” positions against Obamacare and executive amnesty. Huntsman said the government shutdown cost his cancer research foundation millions in federal taxpayer dollars, and he predicted “a major primary challenge” against Lee, telling Politico that Lee is an “embarrassment” and “an extremist.”

(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Front Page News; Politics/Elections; US: New York; US: Utah
KEYWORDS: 113th; 2012election; 2016election; bobbennett; conservatives; corruptrepublicans; election2012; election2016; elections; establishment; gope; gopestablishment; jonhuntsman; jonhuntsmansr; massachusetts; mikelee; mittromney; newyork; rino; rinos; romneyvsamerica; romneyvsamericans; romneyvsthepeople; teamromney; teaparty; trump; utah
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To: VerySadAmerican
The last time a third party did well enough to carry the WH was when Lincoln was the candidate and he had all the Yankee bank and railroad money in the world to back him. They had a war to fight, after all, and he was the man who'd do it.

The Republican convention that year was in Chicago, btw. Funny thing about that.

81 posted on 12/25/2014 2:42:22 AM PST by lentulusgracchus ("If America was a house, the Left would root for Lthe termites." - Greg Gutfeld)
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To: VerySadAmerican
Third parties just don't work in the American political system, IOW. They can't. It took the dissolution of the Whig Party to make the Republican Party at all feasible.

Lincoln himself, in the interlude between his last Whig campaign and his first Republican one, left a lot of correspondence about his plans and why he didn't think an "independent" stab at public service would work. He stated his case in plain words, that a politician needs a party to act through, a major party. He sized up the political landscape and decided to back the new Republican Party, whose interests tied Prairie Freesoilers and development interests with the formerly Whig (and ex-Federalist) business and banking interests, which gave him the bones of a potentially successful regional combination to work with.

If the GOP-E "steal" the GOP for good, everyone who isn't a Communist and doesn't have $50 million, won't have a political party, either.

82 posted on 12/25/2014 2:55:45 AM PST by lentulusgracchus ("If America was a house, the Left would root for Lthe termites." - Greg Gutfeld)
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To: cotton1706
Actually, it would be OK with me if Lee wasn't reelected in 2016...
...as long as he was busy taking up residence in the White House.
83 posted on 12/25/2014 8:29:40 AM PST by Carry_Okie (ObamaCare IS Medicaid: They'll pull a sheet over your head and send you the bill.)
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To: antidisestablishment

Uh, that’s a pretty wild set of alternatives. As they say, stupidity us doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. We keep electing RINOs, we almost got a good conservative elected in Mississippi, Duncan, and they use illegal crossover Democrats to defeat him, we take over Congress because the American public had it with amnesty and Obamacare and Boehner and his henchman give the criminal in Chief everything he wants.

I voted RINOS before and it got me nothing. Never again.
If Bush/Romney/McCain get nominated, I vote third party.

Who is Jon Galt?


84 posted on 12/25/2014 8:08:55 PM PST by ZULU (Quo usque tandem abutere Obama patientia nostra?)
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To: cotton1706

I imagine Lee considers Huntsman an embarrassment and a statist extremist. Who cares what that guy thinks?


85 posted on 12/25/2014 8:21:10 PM PST by Personal Responsibility (I'd use the /S tag but is it really necessary?)
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To: ZULU

I agree. I will never vote RINO again. Unfortunately, too many Republicans place party over principle and the result is worse than voting straight Democrat.

John Galt was a coward. Real men stand and fight. Call them out and cut them down. ;)


86 posted on 12/26/2014 3:18:37 AM PST by antidisestablishment (When the passion of your convictions surpass those of your leader, it's past time for a change.)
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To: Himyar

Quite a change from the 60’s when, in Alabama, the ‘Rat primary was THE election.....


87 posted on 12/26/2014 5:29:22 PM PST by Paladin2
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To: cotton1706

No. He will destroy a middle-of-the-roader in a primary and/or convention. I thought they meant that some of the powers-that-be would take some sort of revenge on him in DC...


88 posted on 12/26/2014 7:21:46 PM PST by guitarist
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To: x

Huntsman (Sr...or Jr....take your pic) is a hypocrite. In your linked article he states that private funding is best for (cancer) research.

Here’s an interesting article I found, on this subject, from someone who knew Sen Mike Lee’s dad, personally. Excellent points are made...

http://www.unconcon.com/?p=7239

Huntsman Sr is also a close friend of Glenn Beck. Makes me even more leery of Beck (through his associations), than I already was.


89 posted on 12/26/2014 7:43:50 PM PST by Jane Long ("And when thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek")
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To: T Ruth

Thanks for the links to support Sen Mike Lee.

Huntsman touts federal funding, so let him depend on it, even more. Maybe some of their “private funding” will now go towards re-electing Sen Mike Lee.


90 posted on 12/26/2014 7:49:16 PM PST by Jane Long ("And when thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek")
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To: Individual Rights in NJ

He sounds like he’d be much happier as a dingy hairy contributor(and likely already IS one!).

As long as clowns like him are part of the GOP I won’t be and neither will I donate any $$$.


91 posted on 12/27/2014 2:40:22 PM PST by snuffy smiff (Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.)
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To: cotton1706

Anyone who thinks that Obama’s executive amnesty isn’t radical, but defunding it is, is a leftist.

If only the GOP could be rid of the Huntmans and Bushes and Adelsons...


92 posted on 12/27/2014 6:02:46 PM PST by Aetius
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To: cotton1706

It all comes down to whether or not conservative politicians are “bribe-able.”


93 posted on 12/28/2014 4:17:16 PM PST by subterfuge (Minnesota: the laughingstock of the nation - for lots of reasons!)
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To: gaijin

That’s downright sad! I hope they managed to rescue that thing!


94 posted on 12/28/2014 8:33:26 PM PST by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
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To: nitzy

I don’t always vote Republican...

but when I do...

it is always for a Conservative Republican...

Stay Thirsty My Friend. ( ; )

DavidLSpud


95 posted on 12/29/2014 6:15:07 AM PST by DavidLSpud ("Go and sin no more"-Rejoice always, pray continually...)
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To: James R. McClure Jr.

Good luck-

Like Bachmann- even if you win!- the Demon party
will never forget- stay strong


96 posted on 12/30/2014 7:20:46 AM PST by mj1234
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To: cotton1706

They weren’t able to do this to him as a challenger to a long time incumbent...I seriously doubt they could do it to him as the incumbent himself, but who knows.


97 posted on 05/21/2016 1:28:13 PM PDT by Republican Wildcat
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To: cotton1706

What in the world? Sorry for the “resurrection” of this thread. I have no idea where I clicked to make it show up as a ‘recent’ posted article.


98 posted on 05/21/2016 1:31:29 PM PDT by Republican Wildcat
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