Lets put ideology aside for a moment.
Karl Rove architect of the George W. Bush-era Republican victories says hes sick of fanatics running his party into the ground. So hes devised a strategy to pre-emptively sink unelectable candidates early in the process. Hes formed a new super PAC to implement this strategy. Its called the Conservative Victory Project and its led by a guy named Steven Law who was the head of another super PAC called American Crossroads which went something like 0-7 in the 2012 election cycle. (Not that anyones counting.)
Grass-roots conservatives needless to say are quite perturbed. Im filing the paperwork to form a super PAC to support freedom-loving conservative alternatives to (Karl Rove) on FOX tweeted former Rep. Joe Walsh. Surely he wont be the last to counter Roves efforts.
Suspicions about establishment Republicans are well-founded but Rove has a point as well. Purely as a tactical matter why not weed out inept -- or insane -- candidates before they start spouting off about a womans organic ability to prevent pregnancy when raped? Im no Sun Tzu but winning elections seems to be a crucial part of politics. And if being right were enough Id be buying my lunch with a $20 bill featuring former two-term president Barry Goldwater.
Law says that Republicans have blown a significant number of races because candidates prone to the chillingly bizarre have won GOP primaries before falling to Democrats. We need not relive them all. Then again its also fair to say that if the establishment had gotten its grubby RINO paws on GOP primaries America would be without some of the most interesting Republicans out there -- Marco Rubio Ted Cruz Mike Lee and Rand Paul for starters. All this only proves that you can be successful (SET ITAL) and (END ITAL) philosophically committed (well as committed as a politician can be).
Actually you neednt look further than President Barack Obama whether youre a fan or not to see what the entire package looks like -- a man who is dedicated to ideology and has the political acumen to spin populist demagoguery and ultimately enjoy political success.
So the GOP civil war is based on a false choice. Surely people exist in America who can placate both sides of the divide. Surely there are charismatic candidates available to articulate enticing arguments in defense of limited government. Surely there are limited-government types who can successfully implement fiscal conservative reforms (even in far-flung places such as Wisconsin) and remain popular.
And just as surely not every candidate can look the same. The Conservative Victory Project says that its aim is to institutionalize William F. Buckleys rule: Support the most conservative candidate who is electable. The most electable conservative candidate in the Northeast isnt going to be a social conservative. Its that simple.
If ... people think the best we can do is Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock theyre wrong Rove recently explained. We need to do better if we hope to take over the United States Senate. We need to get better conservative candidates and win. Rove may be the wrong person to play kingmaker but whats wrong with the sentiment? Republicans despite the belief of many grass-roots activists dont have a crisis of philosophy (the party is about as conservative as ever); they have a roster problem. A message problem. A persuasion problem. Right or wrong theyre not winning arguments.
So though Roves recent history might not be impressive hes got a point: If Republicans worried as much about quality as they did about purity they might be better off.
David Harsanyi is a columnist and senior reporter at Human Events. Follow him on Twitter @davidharsanyi.
Lets put ideology aside for a moment.
Karl Rove architect of the George W. Bush-era Republican victories says hes sick of fanatics running his party into the ground. So hes devised a strategy to pre-emptively sink unelectable candidates early in the process. Hes formed a new super PAC to implement this strategy. Its called the Conservative Victory Project and its led by a guy named Steven Law who was the head of another super PAC called American Crossroads which went something like 0-7 in the 2012 election cycle. (Not that anyones counting.)
Grass-roots conservatives needless to say are quite perturbed. Im filing the paperwork to form a super PAC to support freedom-loving conservative alternatives to (Karl Rove) on FOX tweeted former Rep. Joe Walsh. Surely he wont be the last to counter Roves efforts.
Suspicions about establishment Republicans are well-founded but Rove has a point as well. Purely as a tactical matter why not weed out inept -- or insane -- candidates before they start spouting off about a womans organic ability to prevent pregnancy when raped? Im no Sun Tzu but winning elections seems to be a crucial part of politics. And if being right were enough Id be buying my lunch with a $20 bill featuring former two-term president Barry Goldwater.
Law says that Republicans have blown a significant number of races because candidates prone to the chillingly bizarre have won GOP primaries before falling to Democrats. We need not relive them all. Then again its also fair to say that if the establishment had gotten its grubby RINO paws on GOP primaries America would be without some of the most interesting Republicans out there -- Marco Rubio Ted Cruz Mike Lee and Rand Paul for starters. All this only proves that you can be successful (SET ITAL) and (END ITAL) philosophically committed (well as committed as a politician can be).
Actually you neednt look further than President Barack Obama whether youre a fan or not to see what the entire package looks like -- a man who is dedicated to ideology and has the political acumen to spin populist demagoguery and ultimately enjoy political success.
So the GOP civil war is based on a false choice. Surely people exist in America who can placate both sides of the divide. Surely there are charismatic candidates available to articulate enticing arguments in defense of limited government. Surely there are limited-government types who can successfully implement fiscal conservative reforms (even in far-flung places such as Wisconsin) and remain popular.
And just as surely not every candidate can look the same. The Conservative Victory Project says that its aim is to institutionalize William F. Buckleys rule: Support the most conservative candidate who is electable. The most electable conservative candidate in the Northeast isnt going to be a social conservative. Its that simple.
If ... people think the best we can do is Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock theyre wrong Rove recently explained. We need to do better if we hope to take over the United States Senate. We need to get better conservative candidates and win. Rove may be the wrong person to play kingmaker but whats wrong with the sentiment? Republicans despite the belief of many grass-roots activists dont have a crisis of philosophy (the party is about as conservative as ever); they have a roster problem. A message problem. A persuasion problem. Right or wrong theyre not winning arguments.
So though Roves recent history might not be impressive hes got a point: If Republicans worried as much about quality as they did about purity they might be better off.
David Harsanyi is a columnist and senior reporter at Human Events. Follow him on Twitter @davidharsanyi.
