Conservatives/Tea Party to challenge many GOP candidates in 2010

[Proud Lieberal from Northeast]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20091103/pl_politico/29057

Interesting

[Χahar]

Excellent.

[Deldem]

Can anyone say "vote splitting"?

[Frodo]

If the GOP only makes marginal gains next year, Democrats should send thank-you cards to Tea-Baggers throughout the nation.   

[Scam of God]

If the GOP only makes marginal gains next year, Democrats should send thank-you cards to Tea-Baggers throughout the nation.   

What's more: we ought to look to absorb some of them. That's exactly how Nixon built his Emerging Republican Majority - splitting the Democrats at the cleavage. If we can attract some of the social liberals, and then moderate on economics (the way President Clinton surely had in mind), we might then get somewhere.

[N.i.K.]

If the GOP only makes marginal gains next year, Democrats should send thank-you cards to Tea-Baggers throughout the nation.   

What's more: we ought to look to absorb some of them. That's exactly how Nixon built his Emerging Republican Majority - splitting the Democrats at the cleavage. If we can attract some of the social liberals, and then moderate on economics (the way President Clinton surely had in mind), we might then get somewhere.

You may even get me.

[Scam of God]

If the GOP only makes marginal gains next year, Democrats should send thank-you cards to Tea-Baggers throughout the nation.   

What's more: we ought to look to absorb some of them. That's exactly how Nixon built his Emerging Republican Majority - splitting the Democrats at the cleavage. If we can attract some of the social liberals, and then moderate on economics (the way President Clinton surely had in mind), we might then get somewhere.

You may even get me.

But you have to work for it, too. Notice that when Nixon began his Southern Strategy in earnest after Wallace was shot and out of the picture, he intentionally shunned the most hardcore segregationists, asking them to tone down (but never totally drop) their segregation and moderate their rhetoric. At the same time, any Republican entryism into the Democratic ranks would have to do the same in reverse: become more outspoken on social liberal issues. 

[paul718]

NY-23 is a perfect example of why this nonsense should stop. 

[Padfoot]

NY-23 is a perfect example of why this nonsense should stop. 

But will it?  Will Hoffman's defeat be enough to stamp out enough of the enthusiasm and funding for grassroots conservatives and the Club for Growth?  I'm betting that it won't.  The closeness of this race is only - to steal a commonly abused GOP catchphrase - going to embolden the "terrorists."  They may be able to take down a few more conservative Democrats with these candidates but they certainly won't be winning back many of the seats where Democrats have encroached on former moderate Republican territory.  If the conservative wing of the party brands candidates like Rob Simmons in CT or Kelly Ayotte in NH as the next Dede Scozzafava, the GOP is going to be licking its wounds again a year from now.

[bullmoose88]

If the GOP only makes marginal gains next year, Democrats should send thank-you cards to Tea-Baggers throughout the nation.   

What's more: we ought to look to absorb some of them. That's exactly how Nixon built his Emerging Republican Majority - splitting the Democrats at the cleavage. If we can attract some of the social liberals, and then moderate on economics (the way President Clinton surely had in mind), we might then get somewhere.

You may even get me.

NiK wouldn't be the only one you'd get.

[Proud Lieberal from Northeast]

NY-23 is a perfect example of why this nonsense should stop. 

Hell no. Tea-baggers, don't stop!

[Stranger in a strange land]

Excellent.

NY-23 is a perfect example of why this nonsense should stop. 

Hell no. Tea-baggers, don't stop!

[xavier110]

I love tea-bagging!

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

My hope was they would focus there attention on PA and maybe FL and leave the deep Blue states like ILL, CT, ME, NH, and NY alone.

[Swing Voter]

If the GOP only makes marginal gains next year, Democrats should send thank-you cards to Tea-Baggers throughout the nation.   

What's more: we ought to look to absorb some of them. That's exactly how Nixon built his Emerging Republican Majority - splitting the Democrats at the cleavage. If we can attract some of the social liberals, and then moderate on economics (the way President Clinton surely had in mind), we might then get somewhere.

You may even get me.

NiK wouldn't be the only one you'd get.

bullmoose and Nik aren't the only ones you would get. But we have already spoke on this, haven't we?

[RomneyGekko Situation Hairgel]

My hope was they would focus there attention on PA and maybe FL and leave the deep Blue states like ILL, CT, ME, NH, and NY alone.

I hope they focus and waste their monies in PA and FL.

[Lief]

If the GOP only makes marginal gains next year, Democrats should send thank-you cards to Tea-Baggers throughout the nation.   

What's more: we ought to look to absorb some of them. That's exactly how Nixon built his Emerging Republican Majority - splitting the Democrats at the cleavage. If we can attract some of the social liberals, and then moderate on economics (the way President Clinton surely had in mind), we might then get somewhere.

You may even get me.

And lose me.