The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

‘Message to the National Republican Establishment: Stay Out of Our Primary’

Posted on | March 6, 2010 | 33 Comments

Ever since John Cornyn and the NRSC backed Charlie Crist in Florida last May, that’s been the basic message of Not One Red Cent. But if you thought Florida Republicans were outraged at national GOP meddling in their primary, just wait until you see the ‘Bama buzzsaw that hits John Boehner when he gets to Huntsville on Monday:

Not long after invitations were sent out for a Rep. Parker Griffith fundraising event, headlined by House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), several local organizations from both sides of the political spectrum announced plans to protest the event. Planned for March 8, 2010 at the Space & Rocket Center, starting at 5:00 pm, the the protest will include members of the Huntsville Tea Party, Left In Alabama, Athens-Limestone Tea Party Patriots, AAMU Democrats Student Club, The Dale Jackson Show, North Alabama Healthcare for All, Madison County Republican Executive Committee, and the Limestone County Republican Executive Committee. AFL-CIO will be holding a press conference at the Marriott Hotel near the Space & Rocket Center in protestation, before the protest event and the fundraiser.  Organizers invite the public to attend.
“We are sending a message to the national Republican establishment: stay out of our primary.  . . . We’re pushing back against the political machine,” said Christie Carden, founder of the Huntsville Tea Party. . . .

Read all of that. Just as with Cornyn’s support for Crist against Marco Rubio, Boehner’s backing of Griffith puts the national GOP establishment in the position of campaigning against the exact kind of dynamic young leaders they need to be supporting. Republican candidate Les Phillip:

“Congressman Boehner coming to Huntsville to raise money for Parker Griffith goes to show exactly how out of touch Washington D.C. is with the rest of America and their refusal to listen to “We the People”,” remarked Phillip.  
“Two of our local Republican executive committees specifically asked the National Republican Congressional Committee to stay out of this race and let the people of North Alabama decide who our best candidate is, but they refuse to listen because they think they know better than we do what is best for the fifth district.” . . .
“John Boehner and the NRCC are supporting Griffith with the notion that he will lure more Democrats to switch parties. This approach does not take into consideration the conservative nature of Republicans in Alabama’s 5th district, or Griffith’s record of voting with Nancy Pelosi nearly 85% of the time, more than many of his former Democrat colleagues.”

The liberal blog Left in Alabama has announced support for Monday’s protest:

Griffith is everybody’s problem.  Sure, I won’t agree with everyone at this protest on every single thing — maybe not on most things.  But we all agree that Griffith has got to go, and for now that one common purpose will let us stand on the same sidewalk in near perfect harmony.

Wingnuts and Moonbats unite! You have nothing to lose but those clueless morons at the national GOP!

UPDATE: Just got off the phone with a conservative operative who disagrees with my criticism of Boehner. “It’s his job. It’s what he’s got to do.”

Yes, I know, and it’s time for a change in the job description.

National party interference in contested primaries is poisonous, and if Griffith was promised help in the primary in exchange for switching parties, he was promised something that he had no right to expect. And let me explain something else that should be obvious: Good candidates don’t need the national party to bail them out in the primaries. 

Just go down the list of worthless assholes that the national GOP has wasted money on in recent years: Arlen Specter, Lincoln Chafee, Charlie Crist — see a pattern here?

Speaking of worthless assholes: Bob Corker. But I digress . . .

As I told my friend in our phone conversation, the major problem at GOP-HQ — encompassing RNC, NRCC, NRSC and the rest of the D.C.-based party apparatus — appears to involve staffers who combine arrogance and incompetence in a particularly dangerous way. I refer you to last October, when House conservatives confronted NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions for the Scozzafava screw-up:

Sessions was called out by conservative members of the caucus, and challenged when asked why NRCC resources — cash and personnel — were being used for Scozzafava. “We have a conservative running in this race, and the Republican Party is not with him,” says a conservative House member who attended the meeting. “There are a number of us who are profoundly embarrassed by this race, and while we don’t blame Pete, we do blame the NRCC staff for apparently not doing its job.” . . .
According to NRCC staff, Scozzafava was viewed as the “most cooperative” candidate of a group put forward by local Republican Party bosses in the 23rd District. “She wasn’t going to be a loose cannon and the money was happy with her,” says one NRCC source . . . “Ideally, we wanted someone who could self-finance, but we didn’t have anyone like that,” says the NRCC source. “Then we went with someone who would have a natural pool of donors; [Scozzafava] met that criteria.”

Where do they find idiots like this? Does the NRCC personnel department have a special program for hiring feeble-minded dimwits? Is there a stupid quota at GOP headquarters, or are these staff jobs reserved for particularly inept relatives of major Republican donors? “Don’t worry about flunking out, son. If all else fails, I’ll get you a job with the Republican Party.”

Which brings me to the Powerpoint mess from earlier this week:

The presentation was delivered by RNC Finance Director Rob Bickhart to top donors and fundraisers at a party retreat in Boca Grande, Florida on February 18, a source at the gathering said.  . . .
The 72-page document was provided to POLITICO by a Democrat, who said a hard copy had been left in the hotel hosting the $2,500-a-head retreat, the Gasparilla Inn & Club. Sources at the event said the presentation was delivered by Bickhart and by the RNC Finance Chairman, Peter Terpeluk, a former ambassador to Luxembourg under President George W. Bush.

One GOP donor got his knickers in a twist over the “uncivil” tone of that presentation — Dan Riehl addressed that complaint today — but complaints about incivility miss the larger point: What moron was responsible for this stupid mess and who hired him?

When I saw the Powerpoint presentation, I was stunned by its crude, amateurish quality. On Page 10, the presentation says RNC raised $81 million in 2009, so why couldn’t they have spent a few bucks to hire someone with minimal competency in graphic design? Pages 29-31 of this thing look like they were scripted and designed by an eighth-grader.

Maybe Jed Clampett is a major Republican donor and Jethro is in charge of graphic design at the RNC. But the point is that the stupidity of the person who designed this Powerpoint presentation is exceeded only by the stupidity of the person who hired the person who designed it, both of whom are less stupid than the idiot responsible for it ending up in the hands of the Politico.

At some point, this kind of stupidity and incompetence at Republican Party headquarters ceases to be a series of random incidents and begins to be discernible as a pattern. Maybe the grassroots activists in Alabama are wrong to blame John Boehner for the deal that requires him to support Parker Griffith, but they are certainly right in their belief that the national GOP has exceeded its stupid quota.

Category: Alabama, Republicans

Comments

33 Responses to “‘Message to the National Republican Establishment: Stay Out of Our Primary’”

  1. victoria_29
    March 7th, 2010 @ 12:52 am

    Great job & right on the facts. Looking at the history of the candidates that the RNCC has been supporting over the last few months it is like they are scared of electing true Conservatives. In every case where the National party is butting into local primaries they have supported the RINO over the Conservative. What is bad, is the same day that they sent out the fundraising for this “event” Michael Steele wrote asking for money. As I hope many others are doing I wrote them back & told them I didn’t believe that I would be donating until they started supporting Conservatives. I guess we can thank the RNCC for giving progressives, teaparty & local GOP groups a common goal.

  2. victoria_29
    March 6th, 2010 @ 7:52 pm

    Great job & right on the facts. Looking at the history of the candidates that the RNCC has been supporting over the last few months it is like they are scared of electing true Conservatives. In every case where the National party is butting into local primaries they have supported the RINO over the Conservative. What is bad, is the same day that they sent out the fundraising for this “event” Michael Steele wrote asking for money. As I hope many others are doing I wrote them back & told them I didn’t believe that I would be donating until they started supporting Conservatives. I guess we can thank the RNCC for giving progressives, teaparty & local GOP groups a common goal.

  3. Mari Allen
    March 7th, 2010 @ 1:25 am

    This is why I remain an independent voter. I have a brain and I, like most voters, use it. When the Repubicans (not a misspelling) wake up and listen to the people they work for, maybe I will consider supporting them. Conservatives are the majority in this country, whether the centrists want to believe it or not, and we are no longer asleep.

  4. Mari Allen
    March 6th, 2010 @ 8:25 pm

    This is why I remain an independent voter. I have a brain and I, like most voters, use it. When the Repubicans (not a misspelling) wake up and listen to the people they work for, maybe I will consider supporting them. Conservatives are the majority in this country, whether the centrists want to believe it or not, and we are no longer asleep.

  5. Stop the Insanity
    March 7th, 2010 @ 1:30 am

    McCain,

    The people of the 5th District of Alabama are highly educated and they know when someone is trying to pull a fast one on them.

    They don’t appreciate being a GOP “experiment”. What Boehner and all of his buddies at the RNC Club are soon going to see is that THEY are dispensible; as much so as those Democrats are. They needn’t think there won’t be blowback on them.

    Conservatives want GOOD, TRUSTWORTHY candidates and Congressional Representatives who will work for THEM; as prescribed by the Constitution. Les Phillip is THE conservative for the people of that district. The two rinos can hang it up.

    Viva la Revolution!

  6. Stop the Insanity
    March 6th, 2010 @ 8:30 pm

    McCain,

    The people of the 5th District of Alabama are highly educated and they know when someone is trying to pull a fast one on them.

    They don’t appreciate being a GOP “experiment”. What Boehner and all of his buddies at the RNC Club are soon going to see is that THEY are dispensible; as much so as those Democrats are. They needn’t think there won’t be blowback on them.

    Conservatives want GOOD, TRUSTWORTHY candidates and Congressional Representatives who will work for THEM; as prescribed by the Constitution. Les Phillip is THE conservative for the people of that district. The two rinos can hang it up.

    Viva la Revolution!

  7. ozwitch
    March 7th, 2010 @ 2:42 am

    “Pages 29-31 of this thing look like they were scripted and designed by an eighth-grader.”

    I’m a bit suspicious of pp 29-31. The beginning of the presentation is dry and factual, regardless of whether you agree with it or not, for 28 pages. Then suddenly there are 3 pages of crude, ripped-from-the-net images with childish captions and a similarly immature call to action which simply doesn’t fit in with the tenor of the start of the presentation. And then normal service resumes after them.

    Sounds like a fake to me.

  8. ozwitch
    March 6th, 2010 @ 9:42 pm

    “Pages 29-31 of this thing look like they were scripted and designed by an eighth-grader.”

    I’m a bit suspicious of pp 29-31. The beginning of the presentation is dry and factual, regardless of whether you agree with it or not, for 28 pages. Then suddenly there are 3 pages of crude, ripped-from-the-net images with childish captions and a similarly immature call to action which simply doesn’t fit in with the tenor of the start of the presentation. And then normal service resumes after them.

    Sounds like a fake to me.

  9. victoria_29
    March 7th, 2010 @ 5:24 am

    Just a little added comment late last month Pete Sessions (R-TX)sent out of fundraising letter with a note written in his own hand on it. Guess who it was slamming? Parker Griffith our Democrat Representative. Of course the NRCC claimed it wasn’t meant for our district but another-wow funny it was pretty precise in its description of Parker & his voting record with Pelosi. Must have lost the memo that Parker flipped flopped (again) & was now their boy.

  10. victoria_29
    March 7th, 2010 @ 12:24 am

    Just a little added comment late last month Pete Sessions (R-TX)sent out of fundraising letter with a note written in his own hand on it. Guess who it was slamming? Parker Griffith our Democrat Representative. Of course the NRCC claimed it wasn’t meant for our district but another-wow funny it was pretty precise in its description of Parker & his voting record with Pelosi. Must have lost the memo that Parker flipped flopped (again) & was now their boy.

  11. USRanger
    March 7th, 2010 @ 6:20 am

    NRC leadership needs to stop eating retard sandwiches and wake up to whats going on at the local level.

  12. USRanger
    March 7th, 2010 @ 1:20 am

    NRC leadership needs to stop eating retard sandwiches and wake up to whats going on at the local level.

  13. Robert Stacy McCain
    March 7th, 2010 @ 6:40 am

    I’m a bit suspicious of pp 29-31. The beginning of the presentation is dry and factual, regardless of whether you agree with it or not, for 28 pages. Then suddenly there are 3 pages of crude, ripped-from-the-net images with childish captions and a similarly immature call to action which simply doesn’t fit in with the tenor of the start of the presentation

    I noticed that, too. But nobody at RNC has called it a forgery, so my hunch is that the presentation had multiple contributors, one of whom was responsible for the crude stuff on pages 29-31. And somebody at RNC knows who that moron was.

  14. Robert Stacy McCain
    March 7th, 2010 @ 1:40 am

    I’m a bit suspicious of pp 29-31. The beginning of the presentation is dry and factual, regardless of whether you agree with it or not, for 28 pages. Then suddenly there are 3 pages of crude, ripped-from-the-net images with childish captions and a similarly immature call to action which simply doesn’t fit in with the tenor of the start of the presentation

    I noticed that, too. But nobody at RNC has called it a forgery, so my hunch is that the presentation had multiple contributors, one of whom was responsible for the crude stuff on pages 29-31. And somebody at RNC knows who that moron was.

  15. Stephen Gordon
    March 7th, 2010 @ 6:48 am

    Yo McCain,

    When I said it is Boehner’s job, I didn’t say that I think it should be his job.

    One thing you missed which I find relevant is that Griffith supported universal health care as late as 2006. I just covered that in greater detail over at TNR.

    I find it telling that Mike Pence and John Boehner are supporting a guy who supported universal health care in 2006.

  16. Stephen Gordon
    March 7th, 2010 @ 1:48 am

    Yo McCain,

    When I said it is Boehner’s job, I didn’t say that I think it should be his job.

    One thing you missed which I find relevant is that Griffith supported universal health care as late as 2006. I just covered that in greater detail over at TNR.

    I find it telling that Mike Pence and John Boehner are supporting a guy who supported universal health care in 2006.

  17. 5th District
    March 7th, 2010 @ 6:56 am

    This Les Phillip love affair needs to stop. Have you talked or read about Mo Brooks?

    You are as guilty as @GOPLeader is when it comes to knowledge in this GOP primary.

  18. 5th District
    March 7th, 2010 @ 1:56 am

    This Les Phillip love affair needs to stop. Have you talked or read about Mo Brooks?

    You are as guilty as @GOPLeader is when it comes to knowledge in this GOP primary.

  19. FilmLadd
    March 7th, 2010 @ 2:14 pm

    Interesting that what used to be the party of Reagan – which was all for local control – wants to come down from Mt. Olympus and decide how the local stuff runs.

  20. FilmLadd
    March 7th, 2010 @ 9:14 am

    Interesting that what used to be the party of Reagan – which was all for local control – wants to come down from Mt. Olympus and decide how the local stuff runs.

  21. Sean Cooper
    March 7th, 2010 @ 2:16 pm

    Hey McCain,
    The 6th District of Alabama is about to see a great change as well. Dr. Stan Cooke is running against Spencer Bachus – we call Spencer “$pender Bachu$.” Bachus voted for the TARP Bailout, Cash-for-Clunkers, the Serve America Act, Global Poverty Act, Jubilee Act, Financial Services Act of 1999 & the Education for All Act – Total of 1.5 Trillion of American Tax payers Money.

    This is why Bachus is going and we are voting for Stan Cooke

  22. Sean Cooper
    March 7th, 2010 @ 9:16 am

    Hey McCain,
    The 6th District of Alabama is about to see a great change as well. Dr. Stan Cooke is running against Spencer Bachus – we call Spencer “$pender Bachu$.” Bachus voted for the TARP Bailout, Cash-for-Clunkers, the Serve America Act, Global Poverty Act, Jubilee Act, Financial Services Act of 1999 & the Education for All Act – Total of 1.5 Trillion of American Tax payers Money.

    This is why Bachus is going and we are voting for Stan Cooke

  23. Sean Cooper
    March 7th, 2010 @ 2:47 pm

    Mr. McCain,
    You need to check out Dr. Stan Cooke running against Spencer Bachus in the 6th District of Alabama. http://www.VoteStan.com

    This race will have more impact than Mo Brooks, Les Phillips and the turn coat.

    Vote Bachus the RINO out.
    Stan is the Man!
    http://www.votestan.com

  24. Sean Cooper
    March 7th, 2010 @ 9:47 am

    Mr. McCain,
    You need to check out Dr. Stan Cooke running against Spencer Bachus in the 6th District of Alabama. http://www.VoteStan.com

    This race will have more impact than Mo Brooks, Les Phillips and the turn coat.

    Vote Bachus the RINO out.
    Stan is the Man!
    http://www.votestan.com

  25. Tammie
    March 7th, 2010 @ 4:14 pm

    The “love affair” as you call it, with Phillip is there for a reason!!

    I did look at Mo Brooks, most of us don’t pick a candidate from a hat. Mo Brooks has expressed support for additional stimulus funding for failing businesses, he has expressed a desire to raise taxes(like a fine) for businesses that hire LEGAL immigrants, and that is just what he is saying, if you look at his previous political record the picture is even worse. It is blatently obvious that he is out of touch with the American people and the constituants of the 5th district. I personally find it hard to take him serious as a candidate, more of the same…lawyers and professional politicians in Washington-No thank you!!

    Phillip all the way!!

  26. Tammie
    March 7th, 2010 @ 11:14 am

    The “love affair” as you call it, with Phillip is there for a reason!!

    I did look at Mo Brooks, most of us don’t pick a candidate from a hat. Mo Brooks has expressed support for additional stimulus funding for failing businesses, he has expressed a desire to raise taxes(like a fine) for businesses that hire LEGAL immigrants, and that is just what he is saying, if you look at his previous political record the picture is even worse. It is blatently obvious that he is out of touch with the American people and the constituants of the 5th district. I personally find it hard to take him serious as a candidate, more of the same…lawyers and professional politicians in Washington-No thank you!!

    Phillip all the way!!

  27. Dave C
    March 8th, 2010 @ 3:35 pm

    On Page 29 is The Heart and ‘Motivation To Give’.

    If they want people to give, then the RNC has to give the people what they want.

    NY-23 being case in point (and was suspiciously absent in the presentation) with the message of “Give, you true believer but don’t question us.”

    Not a choice of a crap sandwich on wheat or a crap sandwich on rye.

  28. Dave C
    March 8th, 2010 @ 10:35 am

    On Page 29 is The Heart and ‘Motivation To Give’.

    If they want people to give, then the RNC has to give the people what they want.

    NY-23 being case in point (and was suspiciously absent in the presentation) with the message of “Give, you true believer but don’t question us.”

    Not a choice of a crap sandwich on wheat or a crap sandwich on rye.

  29. Wayne Bradley
    March 8th, 2010 @ 7:50 pm

    This is why the normal person has such a negative feeling about politics. How can a real conservative come out and support a former Democrat who has supported Pelosi 85 percent of the time? The local executives asked the National Party to stay out and they do it anyway. Typical DC arrogance… That is why we need new candidiates and leaders like Les Phillip who have not been bought out by the disgusting DC culture. I hope Alabama gets loud when telling the National Party to STEP BACK!

  30. Wayne Bradley
    March 8th, 2010 @ 2:50 pm

    This is why the normal person has such a negative feeling about politics. How can a real conservative come out and support a former Democrat who has supported Pelosi 85 percent of the time? The local executives asked the National Party to stay out and they do it anyway. Typical DC arrogance… That is why we need new candidiates and leaders like Les Phillip who have not been bought out by the disgusting DC culture. I hope Alabama gets loud when telling the National Party to STEP BACK!

  31. Honky Tonk Fisking « The Camp Of The Saints [New Main Site]
    March 8th, 2010 @ 2:51 pm

    […] he published on Saturday after I had gone off to meet my Makers — Mark, that is.  In this one, he takes on the whole of The Stupid Party Establishment [RNC, NRSC, NRCC] over the way they are treating GOP candidates and over their incredibly amateurish efforts at […]

  32. Alfred
    March 9th, 2010 @ 11:06 pm

    I do not think that we need to get so upset about the RNC coming to Alabama since we are free to vote as we please in the primary. Give people all of the facts and they will usually pick the best candidate.

  33. Alfred
    March 9th, 2010 @ 6:06 pm

    I do not think that we need to get so upset about the RNC coming to Alabama since we are free to vote as we please in the primary. Give people all of the facts and they will usually pick the best candidate.