And I can prove it.
When Republican candidates are running for office, no matter how moderate, "adult", or centrist they really are, they pretend to be conservative.
In fact, even Democrats in most places pretend to be far to the right of where they really are in order to win general elections.
The only split Republicans have is between the grassroots and the leadership elites. The grassroots (and much of America itself) identifies as conservative.
The leadership rejects the base, focusing instead on luring a small number of well-heeled donors, corporate contributors, consultants and media cronies.
When John McCain last ran for reelection, did he run as a bipartisan, open-borders maverick? Of course not. His TV ads depicted him reciting the phrase "build the dang fence" and other homages to conservatism. Those positions were quickly abandoned once he was returned to the Beltway.
When Kelly Ayotte and Jeff Flake and a host of others emerged from nowhere to garner attention, did they market themselves as Obamacare supporters who would accede to an out-of-control Executive Branch's bizarre dictates? Of course not. They pretended to be conservatives to win not only their primaries but their general elections as well.
The majority of the Republican base -- and we must include those independents and Reagan Democrats who have exited the party in large numbers -- are conservatives.
The war inside the Republican Party is not a war at all.
It is a fundamental disconnect between the base and a feckless leadership that is besotted with power and corporate cash.
While we must fight at every level to remove and replace the leadership -- "root and brach", to paraphrase Mitch McConnell -- there is another course.
I refer of course to an Article V convention of the states as described in Mark Levin's new book, which is entitled "The Liberty Amendments - Restoring the American Republic".
I'll be posting a full-fledged review of the book in the near future. But the executive summary is easy enough to understand: Washington is an enormous black hole. It sucks in money, media, and power, which it never relinquishes. And always it seeks more. Trying to fix the black hole from inside the black hole is impossible.
A political battle is coming for the GOP. And it is not between factions of the grassroots; it is instead between the grassroots and an out-of-touch leadership structure that is just as doomed as the Detroitocrat Party.
It just hasn't come to grips with it yet.
Related: The Lying GOP Establishment.
5 comments:
Now we know why some solid conservatives who are not beholden to RINOs are flirting with the idea of a 3rd party...
Isn't a 3rd party lifeboat better than riding the Titanic to the bottom?
Russell, it's easier to keep smashing the leadership just like the Senate Conservatives Fund is doing.
See their announcement today?
I'd prefer to smash them into Gopher food, as it would serve a purpose. Hey, Gophers have to eat too, and I hear they have strong stomachs. They will need them.
Are you sure it wasn't 'sh-t,' and not 'split?'
Great post, Doug.
creeper
Post a Comment