Oct 01 2007

Will GOP Purists Set Up A Show Trial Against Senator Craig?

Published by at 8:19 am under 2008 Elections,All General Discussions

Update: Captain Ed is a must read today on the topic of purists verses big tent conservatives. I am not alone in my views on this matter, not by a long shot. – end update

Want to know how bad the split is in the GOP between the small minority of purists who attack everyone else in the conservative coalition from George Bush to Rudy Guiliani (two respected figures of 9-11)? It’s bad folks. The purists ended the coalition when they declared no compromises on immigration. Specifically the opposed letting long term immigrants stay here ‘illegally’ – even though we now know it is no more than a civil misdemeanor to overstay your welcome here – pay a fine, backtaxes and make it through a background check to enter into a more rigourous and controlled program than exists today. That stand removed the ‘common ground’ from the coalition and it was far right that decided they needed a slash and burn civil war. They used the terms traitors and RINOs and various other deroguatory terms against their one-time allies in the coalition.

It was not so much they had a different view (that is normal in a coalition), it was the fact they could only lose ugly. The hate and invective they spewed at those who disagreed with them was stunning – and unforgivable. You do not backstab allies in public (or in private). Else your allies walk away. And that is what is happening.

The far right can tell they have lost support. And so there frustration grows with their increasing impotence. The result is they lash out more and stronger. One person they are lashing out at right now is Senator Craig. As I noted before Craig has been a stalwart Bush supporter and that is a political death sentence to the far right – who would impeach Bush if they could, they have said so many times over various issues. In this earlier post I analyzed Craig’s Senate record and found him to be a strong Bush ally; therefore, that makes him a prime target of the far right. There is little doubt left this is the case.

Today we have the GOP purists threatening Craig through the pages of the Washington Post as anonymous congressional sources (‘aides’ – sometimes known as ‘political hatchet men’).

Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho is a tough guy to run out of town.

Not that his Republican colleagues aren’t trying. Worried that the disgraced lawmaker intends to remain in the Senate indefinitely, they are threatening to notch up the public humiliation by seeking an open ethics hearing on the restroom scandal that enveloped Craig last month.

One senior Republican aide imagined “witnesses, documents, all in front of the klieg lights.” The committee also could look for “a pattern of conduct” — which means combing court records in other locales to discover whether Craig had prior arrests that haven’t come to light.

They are, in essence, going to impeach his integrity. It is akin to the Clinton impeachment campaign – just get it in the media and let the dogs run with it. We see these low-life political tactics all the time between the parties. Digging up dirt and exposing it (even when it is many times nothing but spin) is one of the way those who lack ideas and imagination to solve the nation’s problems hold onto power. So to threaten these tactics on a strong conservative Senator (Craig is no NE fence sitter) means the purity wars are running hot and heavy in the GOP.

This time it will backfire on the far right. They have repeatedly overstepped the bounds of allowable behavior. These pretend Priests of Reaganism violate Reagan’s 11th commandment all the time and to the extreme. In fact the never admit Reagan, while very much pro-family, was not against gays, immigrants or compromise.

And to those who think there is no pro-life, anti-Guiliani movement within the GOP I can say without hesitation there is one and it is suicidally committed to detroying the conservative coalition if it does not do what they demand. The reporting on a group of people in Salt Lake City who are considering the idea of bolting the GOP if Guiliani is nominated mirrors the exact same thing I have been hearing from many on the far right. And these people are tied into the groups and people mentioned in the article. I doubt it was a secret meeting. It was more likey an impromptu side bar to vent on their rising frustrations. But that is the talk in these circles right now. I have heard it. They would rather see Hillary win (and all conservative progress wiped out) than Guiliani win (where worst thing for them would be they have to fight a bit for their policies). It is mind numbingly ridiculous logic – if one can even use the word ‘logic’ when it is clear pure frustration and anger are at play here. This sentiment does exist in a small group of extreme social conservatives.

Personally I think it would help Guiliani if they did to this – and the GOP. If they go off the reservation it will cleanse the GOP of the far right – nationally the least palatable segment of the GOP. The broader coalition has fought for the respect of social conservatives and to allow them the right to raise their families in the judeo-christian orthodoxy they prefer. The coalition wants to bring back Christmas and Christian symbols as acceptable free speech. But many of us will not rejoin the Catholic Church, at least until it modernizes. For me it is the ridiculous idea women and men are not equals. It is one of those idiotic things that the church hangs onto for those insecure male dinosaurs at the top. It is a barrier I will not breach. But with that said I find the pilloring and attempts to silence the Christian right just as wrong. The difference is the silencing is being done in the name of America’s Constitution while the separation of the sexes is a church idiosynchrosy. The Church is free to make that kind of blunder, our nation is not. They point it, the coalition was built on mutual respect, working together, and supporting your allies even when you do not support every nuance of their position. That has been declared over.

The social conservatives cannot reciprocate, and when the coalition spurns them they will bolt. I think that would be good because that would leave the Democrat nominee towing the far left line (their representation in the Democrat side is much larger than the social cons representation is on the GOP side), but Rudy not beholding to the far right. He would be aligned with the massive moderate center. It would guarantee him a large win. It would be the Leiberman-Lamont phenomena repeated on the far right. And because the far right can’t put their own nominee in (again, they are much smaller than the leftward counter parts as can be seen by their limited ability to fill nominations) there is no need to go ‘outside’ the GOP when voting for Guiliani.

The GOP purity war is running its course and backfiring on the far right – as expected. And this is not the first time it has happened. Pat Buchannan and Senator Robert Smith did the same thing when they repulsed the moderate voters. They left the party in a fit of frustration and simply went into political oblivian. When you destroy a coalition out of pique and anger you do not get a second chance for redemption for a long, long time. The hit to ones credibility on trustworthiness is massive and cannot be reversed easily. Trust is one of those things that can be destroyed in an instant of misjudgement and require life times to repair. The damage has been done to trust and credibility. We are just going to have to wait and see how it plays out in 2008.

13 responses so far

13 Responses to “Will GOP Purists Set Up A Show Trial Against Senator Craig?”

  1. dave m says:

    Well, here is what I would like to see happen:
    Senator Craig is found not guilty and gets re-elected.
    Illegals of all nationalites are sent home.
    Nobody can make an arguement that people who have
    entered illegally have a right to stay. That is a nonsense.
    And senators who are, well whatever they are,
    get to serve their term until the next election.

  2. stevevvs says:

    Come on Aj!
    In the last two months we have seen:
    ICE transfered 20% of there agents to other Agencies.
    Most, if not all, of the National Guard has been removed from the Border.
    The “Virtual Fence” still doesn’t work.
    And the Real Fence is less than 20 miles in length.
    They have tried to attach the “Dream Act” to the defense Authorization bill.
    And they tried to pass Amnesty for Farm Migrant Workers.
    So, despite what the Public has said it wants: I.E. Secure Borders, no Amnesty, the evidence certainly suggests that in D.C., they are not listening to the public, and are back to their usual ways.
    Then we have the Nafta Super Highway, the Mexican Trucks, and last but not least, the North American Union Plans.
    We are being sold out. Time to take the Blinders off.

    As for Larry Craig, He has caused his problems. He played Footsie, He Pled Guilty, He said he’d resign. Those were all HIS Actions. I think they were all dumb, and yes, the Media and their friends in the Democratic Party did him no favors. But it is Larry who caused Larry’s problems.
    Now ol Larry wants to change his plee, keep his seat, etc. I find it hard to care either way at this point. He may be a great guy, a great Senator, but in the end it was his actions and reactions that got him in this mess. And it’s up to him to find a way out, if he can. But the real question is, what do the voters in his state think of him, and do they wish for him to represent them?
    Ultimately, the voters are the ones that matter here.

  3. Rich says:

    AJ, I usually agree with you virtually 100% but you are very wrong about Larry Craig. While I don’t believe in the public flogging being proposed in the Senate, its pretty obvious that he’s a person who enjoys the trappings of power a lot too much. He committed an error and needs to take the consequences. Noboby believes him and while he may succeed in getting the guilty plea reversed, that will change nothing in the court of public opinion. Its a shame about his lack of judgment but it happened and we need to move on. It is dissappointing that a strong conservative voice will be lost but, unfortunatelt, once again, the GOP did it to itself.

  4. The Macker says:

    AJ,
    That NYT link was dripping with bias and, probably, innacuracies.

    I oppose third parties because they are counterproductive. But I suspect that what is happening here is just jockying for position before the primaries.

    Re your charge of Catholic sexism, it seems to me that they should be free to organize themselves as they see fit. Religions are voluntary organizations.

  5. AJStrata says:

    Macker,

    My own ears are my sources, I just linked to the article as a reference for the topic. And I did say the Church is free to make those decisions and the country was not. Read a little slower!

  6. Terrye says:

    If these people bolt and help Hillary win then screw em.

    Steve: Bush has put more people and resources into dealing with immigration than any president in history and all he has gotten for his trouble from the hardliners is name calling and threats. Of course there has been increased arrests etc, there are more people working on the problem. But the larger issue are the millions who are here and whether or not it is realistic to think we can track down, bring in, have hearings for and deport all of them. Or if it is even wise to do so.

    More common sense and less name calling would be nice.

  7. Molon Labe says:

    Dump the purists and move the GOP slightly left!

    If politcal interest is normally distributed, we’d pick up a lot more votes from the middle than we lose from the tails.

    And I’ll take Blue-Dog Democrat over Church Lady any day.

  8. Terrye says:

    I went over to on the issues website and saw this on Richardson and immigration:

    * Include same-sex couples in binational marriage sponsorship. (Aug 2007)
    * Comprehensive reform needed; but McCain-Kennedy bill flawed. (Jun 2007)
    * McCain-Kennedy bill is not amnesty; it has strong standards. (Jun 2007)
    * A wall on Mexican border is not America. (Jun 2007)
    * A wall divides families and doesn’t solve the problem. (Jun 2007)
    * The 2007 immigration bill is not an amnesty bill. (Jun 2007)
    * Opposes compromise immigration bill: it tears apart families. (May 2007)
    * Border fence hasn’t worked; border patrols & tech have. (May 2007)
    * Driver’s licenses & scholarships for illegals; not amnesty. (May 2007)
    * Legalization plan, not this stupid wall being proposed. (Mar 2007)
    * Declared state of emergency on Mexican border. (Nov 2006)
    * Path to legalization if illegals pay taxes & learn English. (Nov 2006)
    * Reduce immigration; no automatic citizenship for kids. (Nov 1996)
    * Guarantee human services to illegal immigrants. (Nov 1996) .

    That is the other side people.

  9. The Macker says:

    Molon,
    Intensity probably isn’t normally distributed. I wonder what issues you consider non-negotiable?

    Instead of forcing a polarizing candidate on the party, then blaming the defectors,why not pick a unifying candidate?

  10. momdear1 says:

    It is a given that there will be a third party candidate. That is the only way that either of the Clinton’s can win. Bill Clinton never got more than 43% of the vote. Ross Perot split the anti Clinton vote. giving the election to Clinton. You can put money on it that Hillary knows she can’t win unless they use the same ploy again. Dobson et al are playing into the Clinton’s hands. Unless they want another 8 years of 60’s Hippies, incompentent affirmative action hires to serve as patsies, Janet Reno and Chinese communist agents running our government agencies and looting the treasury and selling our military hardware and secrets, they will forget any plans to punish the Rebs. Whatever faults the Reps. have, the alternative is far worse.

  11. Soothsayer says:

    Why would you want to make Larry Craig any more of an issue than he already is?

    Craig is a loser. A lying hypocrite who got caught trying to drum up some man-on-man sex. He was given every opportunity to retain counsel and to respond appropriately to the charges against him. He took his time, deliberated, and chose to plead guilty, because he thought he could continue to keep his sexual predilections a secret.

    Ooops. Didn’t work out that way, now, like all Republicans caught with their hands in the cookie jar, he wants a Mulligan. That’s not how the law works in Minnesota, I’m afraid, and my bet is he’s got about a 1% chance of withdrawing his plea.

    The longer he hangs out as an active embarassment, the better it is for Democrats.

  12. poodlemom says:

    Gosh, never thought I’d be agreeing with Sooth 😉

    Sooth, the reason AJ is willing to cut Craig so much slack is because Craig voted “for” comprehensive immigration reform.

    The reason I (and many others) think Craig needs to go is because it has also occurred to us that Craig is already being blackmailed into supporting shamnesty. As others have pointed out, up until now Craig has been a staunch conservative vote; his vote on illegal immigration puzzled many…..especially in his home state. The seat will remain in the GOP column after Craig is gone.

    This isn’t a religious vendetta against Craig. GOP realists know that there are other episodes that are waiting to come out of Craig’s closet. The jerk who runs a web site threatening to out all gay members of the GOP said he has an interview on tape of a guy who had a similar experience with Craig in a men’s room at Union Station. Can’t think of the guy’s name right now (I’m having a senior moment) he’s obnoxious to be sure, but we can’t give Pelosi & Reid more opportunities to lament about the “culture of corruption”.

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if there had never been any questions about Craig’s sexual predilections he might be able to ride out the storm. This hasn’t been the first time and I see no reason for the GOP to carry the albatross of Craig’s inability to face reality.

    It isn’t the religious right who are salivating, waiting to skewer Craig…..it’s Pelosi & Reid and their followers who are praying that Craig remains as the gift who keeps on giving.

    AJ, for what it’s worth I’m the organist in a Presbyterian Church. Rudy’s my man and (I hope) the GOP nominee. Dobson and his crew don’t speak for all Christians.

  13. AJStrata says:

    Poodlemom,

    Trust me, Craig is not being blackmailed. He like many of us just aren’t out for blood against immigrants who have been working here for years and been law abiding members of our community.

    Personally I would rather go after life long speeders who have been ‘illegal drivers’ for years as they got away with their crimes. Speeders and agressive drivers, unlike people working to raise a family, do endanger and hurt and kill people.

    I am glad to see you are willing to support the GOP over Hillary. too many right now are still angry they are not the heroes of the right. They want to punish us non-believers and they want to punish those illegal workers (and wink and the illegal drivers!).

    I don’t think they have the self control to stop the implosion. To undo their mistake means admitting it and fixing it.