Is Re-Election an Entitlement?

[Texas_tea]

As the 2014 Republican primary elections near, an interesting question has been raised in party politics.

Should all Republican senators be re-nominated after each term?

The Republican establishment in Washington thinks so. In fact, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) recently announced it will oppose all conservative candidates who challenge Republican incumbents in primaries regardless of the circumstances.

The NRSC believes that once a Republican is elected to the U.S. Senate, that senator should be re-nominated after each term. They don't think voters should ever elect someone new who better reflects their views.

They don't care how long the senator has been there, what their record is, or if they're unpopular back home and could cost the party the seat. They believe in lifetime nominations and would probably eliminate primary elections for incumbents altogether if they could.

The goal of the NRSC is no longer to win back the Senate, but rather to protect incumbents no matter how liberal they are and regardless of whether they are likely to be defeated by a Democrat in the general election.

Instead of building a new Senate, they're working to protect the old one.

 

[BigRob]

As the 2014 Republican primary elections near, an interesting question has been raised in party politics.

Should all Republican senators be re-nominated after each term?

The Republican establishment in Washington thinks so. In fact, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) recently announced it will oppose all conservative candidates who challenge Republican incumbents in primaries regardless of the circumstances.

The NRSC believes that once a Republican is elected to the U.S. Senate, that senator should be re-nominated after each term. They don't think voters should ever elect someone new who better reflects their views.

They don't care how long the senator has been there, what their record is, or if they're unpopular back home and could cost the party the seat. They believe in lifetime nominations and would probably eliminate primary elections for incumbents altogether if they could.

The goal of the NRSC is no longer to win back the Senate, but rather to protect incumbents no matter how liberal they are and regardless of whether they are likely to be defeated by a Democrat in the general election.

Instead of building a new Senate, they're working to protect the old one.

The only organization in recent memory to cost Republicans seats in the US Senate has been the Tea Party. In fact, if we could have nominated the more "establishment" person in many of these races the Republicans would currently control the US Senate.

There are outside groups who have raised a lot of money to try to unseat the incumbents with more conservatives types (that will lose the seat), it makes perfect sense for the NRSC to get involved when the data indicates they should to get the person who can win nominated.

 

[dogtowner]

party politics is a curious thing. quite a lot of people who are not actual party members feel as though they have some say in party actions. this us, of course, because sometimes the party extends this to the public (this is called primaries). backmwhen i was just a pup the party took care of its business via conventions where only party members participated. here in virginia the Byrd Machine ran the show and ran it well till we ran out of byrds. about that time the evangelicals hit upon the stroke of brilliance to flood the party with active party members. the old libers didnt see it coming andlost control. and realistically it should have happened that way. if you are doing the heavy lifting then you have earned the right. after this tge old line turned to money as a substitute for effort and the general degeration to what you see today began. by all rights the TEA party should be doing that heavy lifting AS republicans but they will not. they will not become an actual party bexause uts harder than it looks. not to mention they have succombed to being defibed by wedge issues that are too limiting to allow success beyond a regional level. the way out of this mess is beyond me. but one thing is clear, whoever does the heavy lifting should own the right to set the course. the TEAs have a decision to make. either be republicans or be TEAs and gecome a party.

 

[Texas_tea]

The Republicans have not only abandoned their core base, they are actively purging their own conservative members. It seems to me the TEA Party will not have any choice but to form it's own party.

The majority of America is conservative and right now they have very little representation in Washington. This may prove to be difficult considering the regime continues to illegally target all conservative groups.

Primaries are good. It is bad for America for the NRSC to blindly support all incumbents. Being a Senator is not an entitlement; it's a privilege that must be earned with each election.

Haven't career politicians done enough damage to this Country?

 

[Gipper]

The Republicans have not only abandoned their core base, they are actively purging their own conservative members. It seems to me the TEA Party will not have any choice but to form it's own party.

The majority of America is conservative and right now they have very little representation in Washington. This may prove to be difficult considering the regime continues to illegally target all conservative groups.

Primaries are good. It is bad for America for the NRSC to blindly support all incumbents. Being a Senator is not an entitlement; it's a privilege that must be earned with each election.

Haven't career politicians done enough damage to this Country?

Agreed. The R party is at war with it's base. The R establishment wants to be Dem Lite and they can't accept that many of their voters will not follow them.

The R party is targeting many TP members in the House right now for 2014.

Instead of embracing the TP, the R leadership is doing the opposite. Just tells you how dumb they are.

Now...with Obamacare imploding, I am betting the R establishment will do all it can to HELP Obama and Ds, rather than use this disaster to get control of the Senate and push for termination of Obamacare. Disgusting....but typical for a corrupt party.

 

[Texas_tea]

Agreed. The R party is at war with it's base. The R establishment wants to be Dem Lite and they can't accept that many of their voters will not follow them.

The R party is targeting many TP members in the House right now for 2014.

Instead of embracing the TP, the R leadership is doing the opposite. Just tells you how dumb they are.

Now...with Obamacare imploding, I am betting the R establishment will do all it can to HELP Obama and Ds, rather than use this disaster to get control of the Senate and push for termination of Obamacare. Disgusting....but typical for a corrupt party.

Both parties are leftist parties .... little debate left there at this point.

 

[PLC1]

The Republicans have not only abandoned their core base, they are actively purging their own conservative members. It seems to me the TEA Party will not have any choice but to form it's own party.

The majority of America is conservative and right now they have very little representation in Washington. This may prove to be difficult considering the regime continues to illegally target all conservative groups.

Primaries are good. It is bad for America for the NRSC to blindly support all incumbents. Being a Senator is not an entitlement; it's a privilege that must be earned with each election.

Haven't career politicians done enough damage to this Country?

Haven't career politicians done enough damage to this Country? No, not yet. They're still working on more damage. Politics should not be a career, but a limited period of public service.

But, the "entitlement" of a nomination for incumbents is reality, and has been for quite some time.

Moreover, gerrymandering has helped assure that the incumbent will have an easy battle against any challengers from the opposing party.

But, should the TEA party split from the Republicans, the unintended consequence would be more victories for the Democrats.

 

[dogtowner]

Haven't career politicians done enough damage to this Country? No, not yet. They're still working on more damage. Politics should not be a career, but a limited period of public service.

But, the "entitlement" of a nomination for incumbents is reality, and has been for quite some time.

Moreover, gerrymandering has helped assure that the incumbent will have an easy battle against any challengers from the opposing party.

But, should the TEA party split from the Republicans, the unintended consequence would be more victories for the Democrats.

Yes, even the TEAs realize that splintering off will only result in defeat and the GOP knows going conservative will do the same FOR STATEWIDE OR NATIONAL OFFICE. Thats the crux of the matter. Appealing to an entire state is only possible if the candidate is seen as centrist. Putting the senate uo to popular vote was a terrible idea. Tex you may feel that midt people are conservative and that may even be true despite the reality showing otherwise. What is not syncing is the definition of conservative. the right needs to find a middle ground within itself. Been avoiding this since Dole and been paying the price for it. Id worry less about this group and more about the GOP itself as it alone holds the power to nominate.

 

[Texas_tea]

Haven't career politicians done enough damage to this Country? No, not yet. They're still working on more damage. Politics should not be a career, but a limited period of public service.

This is very true ...

But, the "entitlement" of a nomination for incumbents is reality, and has been for quite some time.

This may be true .... but, according to the Senate Conservative Fund, "the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) recently announced it will oppose all conservative candidates who challenge Republican incumbents in primaries regardless of the circumstances."

Moreover, gerrymandering has helped assure that the incumbent will have an easy battle against any challengers from the opposing party.

But, should the TEA party split from the Republicans, the unintended consequence would be more victories for the Democrats.

This had been the common thought for some time now ..... however, I do not believe it will always be so ...

 

[Texas_tea]

Yes, even the TEAs realize that splintering off will only result in defeat and the GOP knows going conservative will do the same FOR STATEWIDE OR NATIONAL OFFICE. Thats the crux of the matter. Appealing to an entire state is only possible if the candidate is seen as centrist. Putting the senate uo to popular vote was a terrible idea. Tex you may feel that midt people are conservative and that may even be true despite the reality showing otherwise. What is not syncing is the definition of conservative. the right needs to find a middle ground within itself. Been avoiding this since Dole and been paying the price for it. Id worry less about this group and more about the GOP itself as it alone holds the power to nominate.

The Republican Party has been moving more "centrist" since Dole ..... so "centrist" that it is now a Leftist Party completely abandoning it's core values and core base ..... how has that worked out for them ....

The ol' slogan the Republicans are too conservative thus making them too extreme is a line of sh*t .... in my opinion of course.

 

[dogtowner]

The Republican Party has been moving more "centrist" since Dole ..... so "centrist" that it is now a Leftist Party completely abandoning it's core values and core base ..... how has that worked out for them ....

The ol' slogan the Republicans are too conservative thus making them too extreme is a line of sh*t .... in my opinion of course.

elections say otherwise. the issue is that perception trumps reality as the media will focus only on comments and actions that show wedge issues. GOP does a poor job at communicating a consistent message.

 

[Texas_tea]

elections say otherwise. the issue is that perception trumps reality as the media will focus only on comments and actions that show wedge issues. GOP does a poor job at communicating a consistent message.

I think that is your opinion ...

I think the GOP is sucking because it's abandoned its core base .... and values. People who usually vote conservative do not want to vote for a leftist party.

 

[dogtowner]

I think that is your opinion ...

I think the GOP is sucking because it's abandoned its core base .... and values. People who usually vote conservative do not want to vote for a leftist party.

I'm sure they dont want to vote for people who do not think as they do. And in regional races they need not do so. This is why TEAs (or libertarians of socialists in Vermont etc) can win those races as they can have the numbers to do so. But in statewide or national races they do not have the numbers and never will. Other countries have tried accommodating this by having multiple parties and coalition governments. This requires that the lefties fracture as well as the righties and I really don't see that happening here. But coalitions have to forgewith or without party names and the simple fact is that no one will be happy 100% and win. At the end of the day you will need to find the Core of your core values that a coalition bloc can rally around and win with. Its as basic and as simple as that. Elections are the proof of that pudding, no opinion required.

 

[Texas_tea]

I'm sure they dont want to vote for people who do not think as they do. And in regional races they need not do so. This is why TEAs (or libertarians of socialists in Vermont etc) can win those races as they can have the numbers to do so. But in statewide or national races they do not have the numbers and never will. Other countries have tried accommodating this by having multiple parties and coalition governments. This requires that the lefties fracture as well as the righties and I really don't see that happening here. But coalitions have to forgewith or without party names and the simple fact is that no one will be happy 100% and win. At the end of the day you will need to find the Core of your core values that a coalition bloc can rally around and win with. Its as basic and as simple as that. Elections are the proof of that pudding, no opinion required.

Elections are the proof in the pudding .... however .... interpretation of those elections is clearly opinion ...

 

[PLC1]

Elections are the proof in the pudding .... however .... interpretation of those elections is clearly opinion ...

If a majority of the voters cast their votes for candidate X, then it's a fact that Candidate X won. It may be someone's opinion that the voters didn't understand who they were voting for, or that the party that ran Candidate Y should have had a different platform, but the number of votes is a fact.