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Opinions/Editorials Title: Will Republicans Miss Opportunity? Can there be a more fortunate politician on Earth than Nevada Sen. Harry Reid? The Senate majority leader has seen his popularity plunge in the Silver State. He led the fight for the health care bill, opposed by a majority of Nevada citizens, according to state polls. Reid also had his fingerprints all over the bailouts. In a time when insider politicians are under fire, Reid is the ultimate insider. But he may yet get re-elected. Republican Party leaders in the state had backed a candidate they felt confident would easily defeat Reid — former state party chairwoman Sue Lowden. She had the political connections to run a strong, statewide campaign. Lowden is a solid conservative, but no extremist. But in last Tuesday’s primary Republican voters selected instead Sharron Angle. Tea party activists saw Angle as the pure anti-government candidate. Indeed she is. At a time when many Americans are demanding an improved education system, Angle argues the U.S. Department of Education is unconstitutional. She has called for phasing out Social Security. (Tough luck, Boomers). And she favors moving the nation’s nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain in Nevada, a plan Reid successfully blocked after the election of President Obama. Using Yucca as a nuke waste dump is extremely unpopular in Nevada. Give Angle credit for taking a courageous stand. There is a good chance, however, that Angle may prove too extreme and her views too unpopular when everyone is voting come November. Reid’s return to Washington looks far more likely than it did a week ago. In an insightful analysis piece, New York Times writer Matt Bai notes how different things are than back in 2006 when Democrats were trying to recapture Congress, and did. Sen. Charles E. Schummer of New York and Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, then a congressman, now Obama’s chief of staff, pursued a strategy to find Democrats who could win in the general election. They solicited moderate and even slightly conservative candidates to compete in conservative districts and convinced the liberal wing that it was in the best interest of the party not to put up a fuss. This time, writes Bai, the Republican leadership has no control over the process. Tea party activists demand ideological purity, the lack of any political experience — being "the outsider" — is seen as desirable. So you see the party nominating here in Connecticut Linda McMahon, rather than former congressman and veteran Rob Simmons to run for Senate. In Florida, Gov. Charlie Crist chose to leave the party and run unaffiliated for Senate after tea partiers challenged his political purity. He now leads in the polls. In Kentucky, GOP primary voters chose a libertarian in Republican clothing, Rand Paul, for the Senate race there. Paul proceeded to explain why he feels that the portion of the Civil Rights Act requiring restaurants and other privately-operated businesses to serve African-Americans was unconstitutional. Not that Paul wants to repeal the act, mind you. That should make African-Americans feel better. Republicans will almost certainly pick up a substantial number of seats in the House and Senate in the coming election and the party may yet recapture the House. But the trend toward selecting candidates that appeal to the extreme right could lead to disappointment in November and a missed opportunity. The Republicans also have to develop a message about what they are for, not just what they are against. As The Economist put it in a recent editorial: “America desperately needs a strong opposition. So it is sad to report that the American right is in a mess: fratricidal, increasingly extreme on many issues and woefully short of ideas, let alone solutions.”
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
ROTFLMAO. Nevada is going to fire Harry Reid, Brian S. The GOP could run a corpse and beat him by 5% of the vote cast at this point. Its also amusing to read about 'fratcide' given whats going on in South Carolina today.
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