As many of you may know, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell recently said, in regards to those pesky Tea Party activists challenging GOP incumbents for Senate seats: “I think we are going to crush them everywhere. I don’t think they are going to have a single nominee anywhere in the country.”
That, of course, includes his. In an effort to mount an effective counter, McConnell’s campaign team developed an ad that captured the interest of Jon Stewart at The Daily Show. The rest is internet comedy history.
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As a Tea Party co-founder, I think this set the proper tone for a citizen response to his “crushing” commentary. People raced to dub music from a wide variety of songs into the ad. I chimed the ’80’s with my favorite band, Duran Duran, and its hit, “Hungry Like the Wolf”. Thousands of others joined the fun, as #Mcconnelling became a trending topic on Twitter and the Youdubber, a popular application.
In fact, for a golden moment, Mitch McConnell became more popular than Justin Bieber; Twitchy captured the moment.
While this was hilarious, I think it belies a much more serious point: Though establishment Republicans seem to be doing well against the current batch of upstarts, they will need the grassroots to be as excited about 2014 as they were in 2010 if they want another historic election result. It seems the smart set among their campaign operatives are so certain that Americans are done with Democrats that victory in November is practically a given — even without “Tea Party”.
Jazz Shaw of Hot Air indicates that perhaps this approach is….unwise.
Even if you’re feeling your oats in the primaries, is the close of CPAC and the dawn of the primary season really the time to be taking a victory lap and doing a bit of an in your face dance for opponents in your own party? November will be all about turnout – as the off years always are – and leaving a sour taste in the mouths of supporters of any of these “upstart whacko-birds” probably isn’t going to do much for the grassroots enthusiasm in the final weeks.
More to the point: The #Mcconnelling movement underscores that Americans are in the mood to mock both parties. The progressives and Obama-believers unhappy with the Democrats are more likely to stay home than vote Republican in November. Show with “crushing” quips that Republicans hold a key component of their base in contempt, and those less-than-impressed with the elite GOP will also stay home (4 million missing voters in 2012 ring a bell).
So, given the Democrats’ tendency to wheel the sick, dying, and dead into vote….
Well, let’s just say it’s an outcome I would rather not contemplate deeply at this moment.
I doubt McConnell will ever really respect citizen activists. However, it looks like he is trying to atone for his recent attack of hubris, by stating that he regrets his former lack of support for Marco Rubio and Rand Paul.
…The Senate Conservatives Fund has certainly endorsed some candidates who couldn’t win in states like Colorado, Delaware, and Indiana in recent years, but conservative activists point out that McConnell has made some pretty bad picks, too. In 2010, McConnell backed Trey Grayson over Rand Paul in the Kentucky primary. He also supported Florida governor Charlie Crist (now running again for governor, this time as a Democrat) over Marco Rubio.
Does McConnell regret supporting Crist and Grayson? He didn’t directly answer the question after being asked twice, but after the third attempt, he conceded: “I ended up being on the wrong side of the Kentucky primary in 2010. We all ended up being on the right side of the Florida primary before it was over,”
Currently, he is clinging to his new best friend, Tea Party favorite Rand Paul, closer than Lois Lerner clings to the 5th Amendment.
However, we have not forgotten what the establishment did to keep Lisa Murkowski in the Alaskan senate seat. Nor have we forgotten how little support Allen West and Mia Love got from the GOP during their campaigns and the aftermaths — so close that demands for recounts should have proceeded and been funded.
So, if McConnell really wants Harry Reid’s current position, then he is going to have to change his tune.
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A choice of Reid or McConnell for Senate majority leader is a not much of a choice. How about neither!
“We are going to crush them [Tea Party] everywhere.” — Sen. Mitch McConnell (March 08, 2014)
Actions and History over these last 5± years speak much louder than the current self-serving pandering words of desperate attention to self-preservation and maintaining status quo at all costs.
The “GOP/RNC Republican” party requires a colossally enormous purge of the plants and the ringers and the liars, cheats, and thieves… the traitorous scum that have abandoned [or never even possessed] Republican principals, their constituents and the entire country in service to self.
All establishment GOP RINO’s must go. Especially John Boehner and Mitch McConnell and John McCain and Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan and etcetera ad nauseam. Be it in 2014 or 2016 — they must be held fully accountable for their turncoat self-serving back stabbing that has accelerated the concerted decline of exceptional America!
The Twitchy site is really funny!
Are politicians really this out of touch? I guess they are. Went to a Georgetown restaurant a few years ago – we were going to have an early dinner before we headed to the airport. We got there around 3:30 PM and had some wine and appetizers before ordering our meal. Around 4 PM, limos starting pulling up, discharging people in front of the restaurant. We were eating on the little patio just in front of the restaurant, so had a good view of everyone. I was idly looking around when I began to recognize people – there’s Rep. So and So, Sen. We all Know, etc.. The place filled with many faces I recognized from C-Span and Fox News. And people I didn’t know, but who kept pulling out their credit cards! It was eye opening. Republican sitting with Democrat and some guy or gal with a credit card.
“Are politicians really this out of touch?”
The political class always isolate themselves from the people they govern. It’s all about them. We’re just the tools they use to amass power and loot.
Leslie,
I would like to add in the related decision by the national Chamber of Commerce to center a considerable long-term ad buy on conservative outlets like Fox to try to coerce conservatives into dropping all continued opposition to the Common Core. Somehow we are all supposed to knell now when the political class of either party speaks.
The Common Core is much like CAGW in its use of duplicity to try to sell a political program where the actual classroom reality simply does not align with the sales pitch. Debate must supposedly be cut off before enough people notice the discrepancy. Because the actual target is both mental perception and altering values, attitudes, beliefs, and feelings, this is a dangerous area to target in soon to be future voters.
I have no doubt that the misrepresentation of the intentions of the Tea Party groups has to do with the determination to jettison the forms of government and individual rights set up by the Constitution. The hostility to the concept of individuality and capitalism comes through explicitly in virtually every reform document I read.
The politically connected have declared war on those that provide their funding and that is precisely how this attempted invisible coup should be seen. It’s an attempt to return to the unity of political and economic power in the hands of the State. Much like the Middle Ages.
And we wonder where prosperity has gone.
“The Senate Conservatives Fund has certainly endorsed some candidates who couldn’t win in states like Colorado, Delaware, and Indiana in recent years,…”
I have to take exception with the TWS writer in the case of Indiana. Richard Mourdock did his campaign serious harm when he stepped on the “rape question” landmine, but I think he still could have won had he enjoyed the vigorous support of Senator Lugar, whom he defeated in the primary. Instead of being a team player, this uber-Establishment pol decided to pout, take his supporters, and stay home. I don’t agree at all that Mourdock couldn’t have won that race.
As a Hoosier, I totally agree that Lugar sabotaged Mourdock.
I just hope future Conservatives realize when they are being set up for their clipped, snipped, editted, and out of context comments to be played over and over.
I take exception to this statement, as well.
Christine O’Donnell in Delaware made that “I am not a witch” commercial because her establishment “advisers” set it up and recommended she do it. Sabotage, pure and simple. The Republican establishment were FURIOUS when voters in Delaware chose her over their anointed, pre-selected, good-old-boy RINO guy.
They didn’t fund her, didn’t publicly support her, and behind the scenes supported and aided her Democrat opponent (the Democrat lemming won, sadly). She had too big a hurdle to jump, especially without support. The ad was icing on the cake.
That Bill Maher attack didn’t have to be terminal (can you say “war on women”?!) – but McConnell and the Party gang threw her under the bus with that ad and lack of support. McConnell wanted to keep his power, even as a minority, rather than have HER in his midst. Too many Conservatives in the Senate might have voted for his arch enemy, Jim DeMint, as Majority leader, you see……. (Remember, as the Party leader in the Senate, he chooses which candidates he wants to support, just as Boehner has for the House.)
McConnell appears meek, but is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, on multiple levels. He is cunning, ruthless, and will throw anyone under the bus in order to keep his clinging-claws in the position of power.
Disgusting.
Send them all home as they are severely infected with total power corruption. Can we make 4 million into 8 million?
McConnell is so out of touch, he forgot who he was talking to and how it would be perceived.
And this person is who will be in charge of the Senate for at least the next 2 years?
He has almost single handedly given Obama and Harry Reid everything they wanted and every thing that is bringing this country to it’s knees.
He refuses to fight. At any time for anything.
Then spits in the face of those who he needs to achieve his goal to be Leader. What a fool. What a doddering old man of a fool.
There is unfortunately only one answer to prevent this fool from being in charge and that is to not vote more Republicans into the Senate. Unless they vow to keep him out of the leadership post. (Is that post done by vote or by Seniority?)
Ann Coulter makes a good case for McConnell:
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/coulter031314.php3
We should be careful about throwing people out if we don’t have better replacements for them. But that comment about the Tea Party is just stupid.
That’s Anne “I Love Christie – No, I Love Romney the Conservative Who Is The Only One Who Can Beat Obama – And Laura Ingraham And I Are So Much Better Than Sarah Palin” Coulter.
Exactly. I don’t pay much attention to anything she has to say. Particularly if she is endorsing someone or praising them for this or that.
Her performance with Christie was puzzling but it was the primaries so Okay.
Then she went full on Mitt as if she couldn’t see the liberal streak down his back from the Moon. Mitt was/is guilty of stuff she’s pointed out and parodied in her books as typical liberal acts.
She lost me as a fan and lost my respect forever.
Mitch McConnell’s declaration of war against the Tea Party (I am not yet a member) was the final straw for me – I am no longer a Republican.
In fact, I will be donating money (and energy, if they’ll bring me on) to his Democrat challenger.
I know all the “big tent” arguments (I even wrote some of them) so don’t bother. From my persepective, its like Team USA vs USSR in the hockey finals, and our goalie (McConnell) is known to occasionally let them score if the price is right. Its time for him to go.
Stewart seems to be “crowd sourcing” … getting his audience to play along at home in trashing the goofy old Republican.
It is probably effective … if you want to be hip like Stewart, goof on Republicans like he does. Don’t be a square man … gotta be hip like partisan prankster Stewart.
Of course with all the Obama lies, Jon occasionally makes a jab, but mostly puts all lies and corruption in context of trying to do good, while having to fight the evil Republicans.
Hmmm. They’re going to crush all of the Tea Party, huh? Seems I’ve heard this somewhere before…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CP9dg38cAI
D.GOOCH
So the 4 million who elected Obama by staying home should be able to extort the 60 million who voted for Romney?
I’ve been a conservative Republican since Goldwater, ringing doorbells first as a young teen. I can tell you without doubt the Republican leadership in the House and Senate today is the most conservative it has been in my lifetime. The Republican caucuses in the House and Senate are the most conservative they have been in my lifetime.
It’s fine to grouse about leadership tactics and results, but in recent years the lunatic fringe, dissatisfied as we all are but somehow feeling entitled to instant gratification, has labeled our elected leaders – elected by the Senators and Representatives we elected to Congress – as traitors and turncoats.
Sorry, no sale. Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, and even old Bob Dole did more to advance conservative ideas and fight against the encroachment of government than any of you ever did, a hundred times more than any of you and ten thousand times more than most.
And you think insulting these great conservatives who have devoted much of their lives to the cause is going to draw people to you and form some new coalition? See a doctor, losers, you’re clearly delusional.
So, if the GOP wins an election cycle (2010), it’s because of the brilliance of the GOP establishment, but when they lose an election by failing to get out the vote, it’s the voters’ fault?
I’m sure it wasn’t your intent, but you’re revealing exactly the kind of thinking that is killing your party.
Estragon, they are labeled as traitors and turncoats because they keep throwing the base under the bus. The only hill they are willing to die on is to shut down “lunatic fringe” that rightfully has lost trust and faith in them.
But keep calling people like me names. You might as well work GOTV for the other side.
BTW, I was actually named after Goldwater (my father was on his staff) and raised on Edmund Burke. If the GOP is losing people like me, they’re screwed.
Sorry Rino boy.
If they are not TEA Party, I will not vote for them.
Won’t ever vote D, but I don’t care if they are running for President or dog catcher, Tea Party or no vote.
Romney was the last Rino vote ever.
I did not leave the Republican Party, they left me.
TXL
It’s too bad Romney, McCain, Graham and their ilk don’t simply run as Democrats. There, they could the cause by drawing off votes from the ultra-left-wing middle-of-the-roaders.