Beware of the Republican Establishment
Beware of the Republican Establishment, by Bay Buchanan
Between the town hall meetings and the tea party rallies, millions of Americans are taking to the streets to protest a government gone berserk. They are angry and determined to take their country back. But there are snakes in the grass intent on using this movement to return to power, not the people, but the Republican establishment. If this happens we lose everything, including our country.
To succeed, the rebellion must produce candidates with fresh faces--populists who share our outrage for the arrogance of Washington, individuals who will fight for American workers and American families. We need primaries to nominate candidates that aren’t owned by party leaders, powerful special interests, nor Corporate America.
Last year, seventy-five percent of Americans believed the country was headed in the wrong direction and they threw out the bums -- Republican bums. Obama and his comrades misinterpreted the victory, believing it was all about them, and proceeded to impose a big government leftist agenda on a conservative nation. Now voters are ready to throw out this new set of bums.
Enter the Republican establishment. They sold this country out when they were in power and can’t ever be trusted again. But they see an opening and are setting the stage for their own return. They are handpicking candidates -- Bush-likes and Bush-lites -- to run against conservatives in primaries. Many are retreads, all are available for purchase. Then the party elite endorses their candidate early in the primary, fills their coffers with millions from corporate PACs and special interests, pressures party regulars to get in line, and sends word to the grassroots candidates: “Drop out -- you can’t win”.
Their game plan: shut out the conservative populists. But if candidates running for office because of love of country are marginalized by the party elite, in favor of career politicians beholden to party leaders, we are lost -- and so is America.
Look at the Senate races. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), led by Sen. John Cornyn, has already endorsed in half a dozen Republican primaries, with more to come. Solid conservatives with great credentials -- new faces, future leaders, threats to the party elite -- were already announced candidates in many of these races. But Cornyn and his cronies aren’t about to let the rank and file choose the candidates -- too risky. A man of the people might slip through and too many of them could lead to government by the people.
In Florida, the NRSC endorsed Gov. Charlie Crist, an Arlen Specter Republican, who is running against a young conservative Cuban-American Marco Rubio. Rubio was a long shot but the NRSC endorsement so outraged conservatives nationwide it breathed new life into his campaign.
In Colorado, District Attorney Ken Buck, a tough prosecutor of illegal aliens, was gaining traction in his campaign for U.S. Senate. Enter John McCain. He calls Jane Norton, former Lt Governor and state chairman of his presidential bid, and convinces her to run against Buck, promising the NRSC endorsement, plenty of money, and a lock on the nomination. Le Moine Dowd, a grassroots activist, summed it up perfectly: “Do we want the NRSC deciding our candidate? Does this action by the NRSC make the primary election irrelevant? Does it make the Colorado Republican Party irrelevant?”
In Ohio, Rob Portman, a former pro-amnesty congressman and Bush trade rep, announced his bid for the U.S. Senate earlier this year. Then Tom Ganley, a conservative businessman from Cleveland infuriated by the massive uncontrolled spending of Washington, decided to run. Mortal sin, declared the party, which told this self-made successful businessman to get out of the race, that “the U.S. Senate isn’t an entry level position.” The NRSC endorsed Portman and are in full campaign mode. (Do these nitwits really think one of the architects of the Bush policy that sent our jobs overseas is going to win the general election in a state with 11% unemployment?)
This same scenario is being repeated in a dozen other states. The political bosses are adamant that our candidates look and talk like them -- the kind that will get in line behind them. Leaders that rise up out of the rebellion and run for office will be a problem for them. So the snakes are out to stop them.
The rebellion must start to focus on producing candidates that will do represent the American people in Washington -- then we must rally behind them and defeat the establishment candidates in the primaries. If that doesn’t work, we must field candidates to run as independents in the general. The country is too important to let the establishment of either party continue to have their way with her.
Bay Buchanan is a conservative activist, author, and pundit. She served as US treasurer in the Reagan Administration and then as a senior adviser to Pat Buchanan, Tom Tancredo, and Mitt Romney. She is currently president of the American Cause and chairman of Team America Pac.
Editor's Note: We are reprinting Bay Buchanan's "Beware of the Republican Establishment" from Human Events in it's entirety. We encourage you to visit the original.
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How long will we allow the RNC, NRSC, and other groups cut our Party off at the knees? How many more times will we say, "Well, as long as he's a Republican, I guess I'll vote for him".
Stop giving turncoat groups and the RINOs they love money! Find true conservatives, and give THEM your money! Heck, this is what politics has always been about. It isn't about keeping entitled, entrenched "Party Regulars" in power, it's about putting the right people in the right places to stand up for our country and our values. This is what the National Federation of Republican Assemblies was created to do. Let's never forget that, and let's never stop fighting!
The Tea Party Movement is about to be hijacked. TPN or TeaPartyNation.com organizers are hard lined GOP who use the proverbial veil of "conservatism" to attract supporters.
They also own and are having the National Tea Party Convention soon and are trying to put a face on it and disguise it as "our" convention. Not only that but they have decided to hold it at a ritzy over the top and outrageously expensive Opryland Hotel in Tennessee! When most of us are the working middle class and in the middle of economic hard times it's just ridiculous!
This is where the grassroots tea party revolution will be hijacked by the GOP. TPN is owned by an attorney and through his trained and careful wording believes they have started the tea party movement, of course without saying as much.
They will attempt to consolidate all tea parties and be the ones in charge and leading the direction. If the other independent tea party groups give TPN any more importance, power or control of their direction then the true grass roots movement will die and have been for nothing. I would be very cautious about signing anything from TPN or just skip the convention all together.
Here's how they answer questions to new members asking before deleting their accounts.
"Yes, can TPN please clarify their principals? I see the word "conservative principals" being used often and many broad generalizations. Can you please clarify the goal of TPN? Is the goal to revolutionize the system in a true diverse conservative grassroots takeover? Or do you plan to just get rid of the "RINO's" and return to the "roots" and support towing the party line of the GOP?
Just a little concerned because those "roots" from both parties seem to get "uprooted" every few years and nothing ever changes. So can you please clarify your stance and be specific please? If you do not plan on reviving the hard nosed party line policies of the GOP, can you please explain what stances you'd approach differnetly and why? Thanks"
Sherry Phillips (owners wife) welcome to TPN, please click the FAQ page to read what TPN stands for.
Judson Phillips(owner) Welcome, please browse the comments and discussions and you will find your answer.
(me)Yes I have read the FAQ's and read some discussions. I do not want to rely on the opinions of your members in informal discussions. I am looking for a straight forward honest answer from the leaders and organizers of TPN before I choose to get involved and active.
I am expecting an answer like a neighbor would give vs. a politician unable to give a simple answer. I think that's fair, here are the questions your FAQ page raises for me. Can you please clarify? Your time is appreciate, thanks.
What Is The TPN?
"Tea Party Nation is a group of like-minded individuals who believe in our God given Individual Freedoms written out by the Founding Fathers. We believe in Limited Government, Free Speech, the Second Amendment, our Military, Secure Borders and our Country!"
Saying that you believe in Limited Government, Free Speech, the Second Amendment, our Military, Secure Borders and our Country is certainly conservative, but is very broad as it is also not only conservative values but GOP values as well.
What Are The Goals of TPN?
"It is our hope that Tea Party Nation helps its members focus on ideas, solutions and actions to help one another in this fight against liberalism and the reach of an ever-expanding government who has ignored the will of “We the People” for far too long."
Ok, I understand the fight against liberalism and the reach of an ever-expanding government that ignores the will of the people. Doesn't this include the GOP equally the same as the left?
What Is The Plan Of TPN?
"We hope to provide the tools and communication necessary for organizing against a government who has stopped listening to the people who put them in office. We want to help our members take those who are unresponsive to “We the People” out of office and replace them with those who hold Conservative values."
Again, many who hold "conservative values" are the GOP who are equally as guilty to being unresponsive to the will of the people.
TPN's response: They banned my account. Nice.