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Jewish World Review May 13, 2010 / 29 Iyar 5770 The cleaning of the GOP house begins By Jack Kelly
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The first casualty of voter dissatisfaction with business as usual in Washington is a (more or less) conservative Republican senator from Utah.
Robert Bennett, 76, was denied the opportunity to run for a fourth term when he garnered only 27 percent of the vote from delegates to the state GOP convention Saturday (5/8). Under Utah's rules, a candidate must get at least 40 percent of the delegate vote to be eligible to run in the state's primary.
Though Mr. Bennett has a lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union of 84 percent, a majority of delegates were unhappy with his vote for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), his support for a health care plan very like Obamacare, and his past support for a "comprehensive" immigration bill that included amnesty for illegal aliens.
Others simply believed the two younger conservatives -- businessman Tim Bridgewater and attorney Mike Lee, who will duke it out in the primary June 22 -- were more in touch with the state. In 2009, only eight Senate Republicans had voting records more liberal than Sen. Bennett's, according to the ACU.
"This is a damn outrage," said David Brooks, a "conservative" columnist for the New York Times, on CBS' "Meet the Press" program Sunday.
"It's almost a nonviolent coup," agreed E. J. Dionne, a liberal columnist for the Washington Post.
"The long promised purge is on," wrote Kathleen Parker, a "conservative" columnist for the Post.
The same day Utah Republicans rejected Mr. Bennett, Utah Democrats forced their only Member of Congress, Rep. Scott Matheson, into a primary. Liberals were upset with Mr. Matheson because he voted against Obamacare and carbon taxes.
No journalists described what happened to Mr. Matheson as "a damn outrage," a "coup," or a "purge."
The media double standard in which primary battles among Republicans are described as "civil wars" reflecting extremism and intolerance, but primary battles among Democrats are not has reached ludicrous proportions in Florida, where Gov. Charlie Crist, who was badly trailing Marco Rubio in the Republican senate primary, has decided to run as an independent, despite earlier pledges not to.
Mr. Crist is the victim of a "Stalinesque purge," said Chris Matthews of MSNBC.
"Did you desert the party or is this a case where once again has your party become so intolerant that it doesn't have room for moderate voices?" NBC TODAY co-host Meredith Vieira asked Gov. Crist .
"The crucifixion of Crist by Republican leaders says less about him than it does about the party," said Dana Milbank of the Washington Post.
This despite evidence Mr. Crist's only beef with Florida Republicans is their distinct preference for Mr. Rubio.
Switching registration primarily for personal advantage isn't working out so well for Democrat turned Republican turned Democrat Arlen Specter, who could be the next victim of voter dissatisfaction with Washington. (Rep. Alan Mollohan lost the Democratic primary in West Virginia Tuesday, but the vote there seemed more anti-crook than anti-incumbent, given mR. Mollohan's frequent ethics problems.)
Sen. Specter switched parties last year after polls indicated he'd get thumped in a Republican primary by former Rep. Pat Toomey. It now appears likely he'll lose the Democratic primary to Rep. Joe Sestak.
By preferring someone else to him, Pennsylvania Republicans had "forced out" Sen. Specter, Mr. Milbank said. If he does lose to Mr. Sestak May 18, will Mr. Milbank say Mr. Specter was "forced out" by Pennsylvania Democrats?
Will Ms. Vieira wonder out loud if a Specter defeat indicates the Democratic party "doesn't have room for moderate voices?"
Will Mr. Matthews declare that Sen. Specter was the victim of a "Stalinesque purge?"
I didn't think you'd want to bet on that.
Sen. Bennett has already served one term more than the two he said he'd limit himself to when he was first elected in 1992. Sen. Specter, 80 and in poor health, was first elected in 1980. The proper thing for both to have done when polls indicated they were in political trouble was to retire, which they could have done with dignity.
Instead, they're getting run out of town because they've come to believe the senate seats they've occupied for so long belonged to them, rather than to the people of their states, a belief evidently shared by the scribes of the Court Party.
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JWR contributor Jack Kelly, a former Marine and Green Beret, was a deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan administration.
© 2009, Jack Kelly |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
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