Originally posted by: Genx87
Originally posted by: Thump553
Left undiscussed is the fact that anyone contemplating running for office as a GOP candidate these days has to pass a purity test administered by national "conservative" groups and people like Sarah Palin. For example, look how their civil war is destructing the GOP in the upstate NY race.
It's not surprising at all to me that otherwise well qualified candidates are declining to run under the banner of a party so predisposed to eating it's own.
You mean like when liberal democrats ran Lieberman out of town and lost the race? It happens on both sides of the aisle.
Lieberman was rejected by the Democratic Party voters in the primary for several reasons: (1) most of here in CT consider Lieberman to be the senator from Israel-harsh, but true. He hardly showed his face in CT for years until the primary shook him up. (2) Lieberman was rejected by the Dem voters because of his relentless hawkishness on Iraq.
(3) Lieberman got the de facto support-and a lot of money-from the national level GOP after the primary. The GOP effectively disowned their own candidate, with the (Republican) governor calling for him to withdraw from the race on the front page of the major state newspaper in early September.
What the GOP faces is totally different. Potential candidates are being savaged if they aren't in lockstep with the thoughts of the Christian right.
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