The election results on Tuesday night might prove to be the final nail in the political coffin of that insidious group, the RINOs (Republicans in Name Only).
Despite a media onslaught against her, Tea Party candidate Christine O’Donnell easily defeated RINO Mike Castle in the Delaware Republican primary. Her win follows other Tea Party victories in Kentucky, Nevada, Alaska and a host of other states.
The grassroots in the Republican Party now totally identify with the Tea Party movement and are sick and tired of the country club, establishment Republicans who offer watered-down liberalism.
When RINOs have power, they produce legislation that is horrific, but not quite as bad as liberal Democrats. When they are in the minority, they support nightmare pieces of legislation like Obamacare, cap and trade and amnesty for illegal aliens.
What is especially refreshing is that O’Donnell won despite dire warnings from supposed conservatives like Karl Rove, the former Bush White House political adviser, who predicted a Democratic victory if she prevailed. In an interview Tuesday night, Rove said that with O’Donnell as the GOP nominee, the Republican Party in Delaware is not “going to be able to win.” Rove’s analysis is hogwash.
Rove was the architect of the policies of the RINO George W. Bush administration. Rove and company grew government, produced massive deficits, created the TARP monstrosity, and refused to enforce border security. Under Rove and Bush, new government departments were created, new entitlements were established, massive earmark-laden bills were passed and the anger of the American public rose accordingly.
It is time the Republican Party stopped listening to Karl Rove, since his administration was responsible for the electoral debacles of 2006 and 2008. Republicans need a fresh start in 2010, which is why the Tea Party movement is so exciting.
The Tea Parties represent this country’s most consequential political movement in decades. Previously uninvolved citizens have been mobilized to take action and fight back against the establishment in both political parties.
If Republicans do not capitalize on this movement, they are doomed to failure. Luckily, GOP voters in Kentucky, Alaska, Nevada and now Delaware are not listening to the country club Republicans who created the high deficits and massive government programs. They are listening to their hearts and voting their pocketbooks.
The Tea Party is the only salvation of the Republican Party. Otherwise, the Republican Party has no reason to exist. If it is not going to offer a stark alternative to the Democratic Party, the GOP should fold its tent. Conservatives should encourage RINOs to leave the Republican Party to become Democrats and join their ideological brethren in deficit spending and the erosion of constitutional rights.
Recent political history teaches us that Republicans are victorious only when they offer a stark alternative to the liberal policies of the Democratic Party. For example, when Ronald Reagan was nominated in 1980, so-called experts predicted a massive defeat for the GOP. Instead, Reagan won in a landslide and followed it with an even bigger landslide in 1984. Ten years later, the Contract with America was created and skeptics claimed that it was too conservative. Instead of losing seats, Republicans won control of Congress for the first time in four decades.
Unfortunately, once the Republican Party gained complete power in Washington, D.C., they turned their back on their principles and became part of the problem. It is one of the reasons why the United States is on the brink of financial collapse today. Obviously, a major course correction is needed and only the Tea Party can deliver the necessary change.
The Tea Party takeover of the GOP must be total and complete; otherwise conservatives should find another political home.
Jeff Crouere is the Host of “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m. weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore. He is the Political Analyst for WGNO-TV ABC26 and a Columnist for selected publications. For more information, visit his web site at RingsidePolitics.com. E-mail him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com.
