Posted on 09/11/2009 9:25:23 PM PDT by rabscuttle385
'Taxpayer March' in D.C. Attracts Party Leaders, but Some Are Wary.
BY DAN EGGEN & PERRY BACON JR.
With tens of thousands of conservative protesters expected to gather in Washington on Saturday for a "Taxpayer March on D.C.," Republican officials are attempting to capitalize on a movement that lately has galvanized anti-Obama activists more effectively than the party's elected leaders in Washington.
Searching for ways to compete with Democrats after two consecutive electoral drubbings, Republicans have moved past earlier uncertainty about the protesters, who organized nationwide rallies this summer that have threatened Democratic health-care plans and eroded President Obama's standing with the public.
Several key Republican lawmakers, including House GOP Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana, have helped to drum up support for the march and are slated to deliver speeches to the crowd.
But top Republican strategists and many party observers also worry about the impact that the most extreme protesters might have on the party's image, including those who carry swastika signs or obsess over the veracity of Obama's Hawaiian birth.
Mark McKinnon, a former adviser to Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and other Republicans, said there is an "opportunity for Republicans" to tap into legitimate fears about an overreaching federal government. But he said that "right-wing nutballs are aligning themselves with these movements" and are dominating media coverage.
"It's bad for Republicans because in the absence of any real leadership, the freaks fill the void and define the party," McKinnon said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
McCain has no business in politics.
Eric Cantor has some gall getting up in front of this crowd. The tea party movement started with TARP, and Eric Cantor whipped TARP through the House.
Talk about a politician jumping in front of a parade... jeez.
Hey, isn’t that the Mark McKinnon that stabbed Palin in the back?
As did Steve Schmidt?
She was interfering in McCain throwing the election for Bamster and well... just getting to much attention for her ‘more rep than Mc views’.
who cares what capt. quige thinks now.....
If you keep moderates/rino's in power the republican party will remain in the minority. And then what happens is the republican party not only has to fight within itself, it has to fight liberals from foisting their anti-American agenda on America with these rino's supporting them. The party has NO power to stop them!
Do not think just because Obama is down now republican's will roll in 2010. Not until we rid this party of loser rino's will we see true victory.
I’ll give a damn what they think when they take a stand against the anti-American radicals that overrun the Democratic Party.
I hope that people attend the McCain/Graham town hall and fill it with chants of “Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!”
I AM IN WASHINGTON TODAY AND I DON'T THINK OF MYSELF AS AN "ACTIVIST". I AM A PATRIOT!
2)It's bad for Republicans because in the absence of any real leadership, the freaks fill the void and define the party," McKinnon said
SO, WHOSE FAULT IS IT THAT THERE IS "NO REAL LEADERSHIP"?
I just got this video in an email.
Hope it show up cause I’m computer challenged.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeYscnFpEyA
Absolutely.
P.S. for the uninformed. Mark McCkinnon is a sleazy DEMOCRAT and McCain groupie.
BUMP.
Cantor should be in the crowds, listening, not in front of the crowds, speaking. Having Cantor there will only make it harder for a true Tea Party candidate to run against him. This is the only reason he is there, regardless of what he says. To him, they are just words and we are just uninformed. When was the last Tea Party even he has attended? Does anybody know?
ex animo
davidfarrar
Oooooh. Ewwwwww.
YES! Worth repeating.
The Republican Party, as it is presently structured, cannot be trusted to produce true Reaganite leaders, only big-government Republicans, who have long ago been paid off by the corporate wing of the party. Only when the Republican Party restructures itself and re-empowers the grassroot wing of the party can it ever hope to offer competent leadership again.
So far I have seen absolutely no attempt by the party elite to restructure itself in this regard. Indeed, if anything, they are presently mounting a large scale propaganda initiative against any kind of grassroot consolidation, as can be seen by their visceral hatred for Sarah Palin. The party leadership rightfully see effective grassroot mobilization as a political threat to the corporate agenda of higher government spending, higher taxes and higher corporate profits over personal liberty.
ex animo
davidfarrar
Wasn't "Pants" McKinnon the one that Bush brought in as a strategist in 2000 and who was involved in the whole thing with the Rat mole?
Sorry, I never have and never will understand the wisdom of this so-called "crossing the aisle" jazz. It seems we just get screwed everytime.
“If we align ourselves with the Tea Baggers, people might get the wrong impression that we actually stand for something.”, noted one Republican insider. /s
Yo, RINOs.
Since you’re clearly not going to lead or follow, it’s time to get out of the way.
“”It’s bad for Republicans because in the absence of any real leadership, the freaks fill the void and define the party,” McKinnon said.”
That’s right, folks, McCain thinks we are all freaks! I HOPE conservatives have finally learned their lesson about this old fool!
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