Posted on 12/02/2011 10:39:28 AM PST by Waywardson
Three months ago, a late invitation to former U.S. Senate candidate and former Tea Party darling Christine O’Donnell almost caused Sarah Palin to cancel her a heavily publicized speech at a Tea Party rally in Iowa. O’Donnell was invited and uninvited to that event twice over a span of two days.
Now, Tea Party groups from around Iowa are rejecting O’Donnell again. O’Donnell scheduled a “private meeting” set for this Saturday with Tea Party groups around the state to come up with a consensus candidate to support in the Iowa Caucus.
TheIowaRepublican.com obtained the information exclusively. Here is the Tea Party groups’ press release:
We the undersigned independent Iowa Tea Party, 912 Groups, and Patriot Group Leaders decline the invitation to attend Christine O’Donnell’s event in Des Moines, Iowa , on December 3rd, and hereby express deep concern regarding the event and Ms. O’Donnell’s stated intent to influence and solicit an endorsement of a candidate for the Republican nomination to the Presidency from Tea Party Supporters.
Specifically of concern:
* Ms. O’Donnell’s statements that Tea Partiers should unite regardless of which candidate wins.
* Statements expressing her personal leanings to be 70% in support of Mitt Romney.
* Statements regarding her personal donations to his campaign.
Further we reject her statement that “Indirectly my endorsement represents all of us”. It does not represent us at all. Such actions and statements show disregard for our caucus process and our independence.
We do not understand precisely why she has chosen to come to Iowa under such pretenses, but our official stance is and has always been that the Tea Party should not endorse candidates. The Tea Party exists to educate, motivate and activate independent Patriots. We encourage everyone to participate in the electoral process and respect the rights of our members in supporting the candidates of their own choosing.
The Tea Party of America
Cedar Valley Tea Party
Jones County 9.12 Project
North Iowa Tea Party
Iowa Grassroots Coalition
Spencer Tea Party
Independence Tea Party
Cedar Rapids 912 Project
We The People of Southern Iowa
Siouxland Tea Party
Des Moines 912 Project
Council Bluffs Tea Party
Harrison County Tea Party
Keokuk 912 Project
Cedar Rapids Tea Party
I wonder if she would have shown up in her ladybug outfit.
Serious question: why does anyone care about Christine O’Donnell?
She’s a bit of an airhead but she performed a vital service: she kept Mike Castle out of the senate. And for that, I’m grateful. One less wolf in the fold.
I’ll be reading tarot cards at Denny’s between 2 and 4,but I’m not a witch!
Agreed. That was a good service. However, it now seems as though she'd like to put Mitt into the White House and he is the big bad wolf.
Trying to extend that 15 minutes of fame. Go home Christine and get a real job.
I’m not a fan of Mike Castle....but I guess you’re ok with an admitted former Marxist like Chris Coons in the senate?
Gee, things have changed from the days when posting anything short of total love for this ‘conservative woman’ got one called a liberal.
Total liberals endorse Mitt Romney. Around here, that is the cardinal sin.
“but I guess you’re ok with an admitted former Marxist like Chris Coons in the senate?”
What brings you to that conclusion?? I don’t fall for the game that a moderate republican is a better choice than a liberal democrat. Because it just isn’t true, because a moderate republican is a liberal republican. If Castle was the nominee, either way Delaware would have gotten a liberal.
I want liberals to be associated with the democrat party. When they’re in the repuplican party, they water things down. A senate majority with Castle (and Snowe and Collins and Specter and Lugar, etc.) would be only issusory, because the moderates would always vote with the democrats because they’re swayable.
I want every moderate republican defeated. If not by a conservative, then by a democrat, to remove their worthless influence within the republican caucus.
crap, that’s funny
LOL. Yes, I recall be flamed endlessly for calling O'Donnell a flake and a dingbat. Rarely in politics do primary voters shoot themselves in the foot as badly as Delaware Republicans did in 2010. Not to say we didn't nominate other clown candidates like Angle and Paladino, but I still believe O'Donnell was the worst.
What was most disturbing is the number of people here on FR that not only thought highly of her, but really believed she could win. They were shocked, shocked that CoD got destroyed in the landslide every political analyst both right and left knew would happen the moment she secured the nomination.
The goal is nominating the most conservative candidate that CAN win, not nominating someone who has absolutely zero chance right out of the gate and effectively cedes the general election to the Democrats from moment one.
Great post.
O’Donnell was an embarrassment. Some folks seem to think as long as someone says they are for the things we are for, then we automatically support them. But one has to show some basic level of intelligence. I don’t mean being a pointy-headed scholar, they don’t have the corner on intelligence.
O’Donnell was dumb as a box of rocks, and a laughable candidate. People are so pleased that she blocked a Republican from getting that seat because he wasn’t a conservative, but I wish we had his vote—he’d be at least a little better than another dem in there. Ditto for the dope who lost to Reid. Falling on one’s ‘principles’ is meaningless if you are allowing the other side to win when you have the weapon of their defeat in your grasp.
It's even worse than that. All the good House legislation we've passed can't even be brought to the floor in the Senate. Some of that legislation may have been politically difficult and even gotten some Democrat votes - ie, if we'd taken the Senate even with nominal Republicans like Castle we could have actually passed some of our House legislation and made Obama veto things. As it is now, Obama is just running around blasting the "do-nothing" congress that most people seem to identify as only the Republican House.
Winning both the House and Senate was really important in 2010. There was the wave necessary to do so too, but enough conservative primary voters elected to commit political suicide in places like Delaware, Nevada (and in Colorado and Connecticut to a lesser extent) that we narrowly missed retaking the Senate.
O’Donnell was dumb as a box of rocks, and a laughable candidate.
Do you know what was most amusing? The fury some had for the "establishment" for supposedly turning their back on O'Donnell (never mind that no amount of support in the world would have helped her win a general election in Delaware), yet dopey Christine had done the EXACT same thing they were bemoaning by turning her back on a Republican Senate nominee in 2006 (after she'd lost the primary) and running a silly 3rd party write in candidate.
The goal is supposed to be nominating the most conservative candidate that CAN win, not just whoever claims they are the most conservative. Electability is a huge factor and those who ignore it are foolish for doing so.
The conservatives I know personally are some of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met—lawyers, teachers, businesspeople. Who are all these stupid people who just happen to say “I’m against abortion and high taxes” and BOOM they’re these incredible candidates?
Here and elsewhere, the vetting of these people is ATTACKED. How many times were folks who told the TRUTH about O’Donnell “liberals’ here?
I’m forever puzzled by the lack of interest in the RNC itself. We should be staffing it with intelligent conservatives who know how to seek out and encourage good people to run for office instead of these boobs.
We are more concerned with cheerleading for folks who have our values than we are in getting people into the offices that could make us more than just that. We need tougher standards, and have to stop being so damned vain that we get the vapors for anyone who bats their eyes at us and says “I’m going to build a wall to keep those illegals out!” which is a lie.
I agree with that to an extent, however that means you run the possibility of having Harry Reid as majority leader. And as we’ve seen this congress, that can screw things up for the Republicans by denying votes on a lot of key issues that would be tough positions for Democrats, and would embarrass Obama. With a Republican majority leader we likely could have gotten a lot of bills to Obama’s desk and forced him to veto it - putting pressure on him.
O’Donnell unfortunately is seeking relevance. I feel bad for her. I think she got a very bad rap but she isn’t doing herself any favors flying a flag for Mitt Romney. Does she really think he is going to have anything to do with her if he is elected?
Majority leader McConnell wouldn’t have been any better. He and Reid are in collusion. McConnell needs to be removed as leader. But none of the republicans seem to have the guts, and McConnell can count on the worthless moderates to back him since he keeps the gravy train flowing.
Give me a RINO over a RAT anyday, for the reasons you state. We have to keep the RATS out of the majority. We take this back incrementally. This is a winning strategy--not a losing strategy.
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