Election Night Belonged to Establishment and Statists
Chris Christie won in New Jersey and began his campaign to be the Republican losing Presidential candidate in 2016, chiding Republicans and saying his delinquent and disjointed administration is a model for the nation. The Politico seems to think that Christie IS the standard bearer for the GOP, basically saying that the GOP needs to push out Christians, pro lifers, and Tea partiers and then they would win. Not! And, Model for the Nation? I guess if he means a model of job growth NOT being a priority, then maybe Fatboy is right.
In Virginia, the establishment GOP left Ken Cuccinelli out to dry because he is pro Tea Party and didn't put in any money. They spent less than they did in the landslide victory of scandal plagued Bob McDonald just four years ago. Despite the carping from the establishment GOP about pouring money in, the fact remains they pulled money out! In his article, Erickson points out that the GOP will learn the WRONG lesson again:
The GOP will take the lesson from Virginia that if they aren’t suddenly socially liberal they’re going to lose nationwide. Instead, they should pay attention to how quickly the polling gap closed once Cuccinelli turned the race into a referendum on Obamacare. And they should also note that being pro-life in Virginia was not what did in Ken Cuccinelli. McAuliffe tried to mobilize his whole base with a “war on women” strategy and nearly lost once Cuccinelli attacked Obamacare head on. The war on women got trumped at the end by Obamacare.
Oh, by the way, it is worth noting that with all the exit polls examined, Virginians split on who to blame for the government shutdown. 47% blamed the GOP and 46% blamed the Democrats. The shutdown too seems like it was not what did in Cuccinelli.
I’m sorry he lost. He would have been a great Governor of Virginia. But his decision, at the end, to make the race about Obamacare and see the McAuliffe lead collapse should be a key takeaway for the GOP.
But they won't. Because they hate conservatives.
Related...Not a War on Women, but Married Vs. Not
In Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli won over McAuliffe decidedly with women who were married. So the notion that the GOP can't get women is ridiculous. But, that will continue to be the narrative by the statist progressive media in their quest to held the establishment GOP become irrelevant by encouraging the GOP to push out conservatives.
