As if Republicans don’t have enough problems, they are devouring their own. Case in point–how many republican leaders have dissed newly elected Chris Christie? His victory wasn’t a day old before Rand Paul criticized him publically for appearing in the ads featuring the song “Stronger than a Storm” which were made to promote tourism along the storm-ravaged coast of New Jersey.
Marco Rubio, rather than congratulating the re-elected governor sniped from within and spoke of different elections with different people. A congratulations would have sufficed.
Ted Cruz, not to be out-ruded, showed his sour grapes by also showing some butt-face and equivocating, rather than a simple congratulations.
From NJ.com:
“I think we need to understand that some of these races don’t apply to future races,” Rubio told CNN. “Every race is different. It has a different set of factors. But I congratulate (Christie) on his win.”
Christie has been a focal point of a ideological rift that has recently divided the GOP — between moderates like himself and more conservative tea party members. The governor has tossed thinly veiled criticisms at tea party lawmakers in recent months, slamming the disagreements among Republicans and Democrats in Congress that led to the partial federal government shutdown.
During his victory speech Tuesday, Christie said Washington should take note of how he has worked with Democrats in New Jersey.
“I know that if we can do this in Trenton, N.J., maybe the folks in Washington, D.C. should tune in their TVs right now, see how it’s done,” the governor said.
Cruz today dismissed Christie’s comments, according to a report by ABC News.
“I think it is terrific that he is brash, that he is outspoken, and that he won his race,” he said, according to the report. “But I think we need more leaders in Washington with the courage to stand for principle. And in particular, Obamacare is not working.”
Cruz walked away when asked if Christie is a true conservative, the report said. The senator’s aides said he didn’t have time to answer more questions, according to the report.
Ah, the green-eyed monster is among us. Meanwhile, in Virginia, I keep hearing a lot about how narrow the victory was between McAulifee and Cuccinelli. Get over it. 55,000 votes trumps 0 votes over any day of the week. I am still trying to figure out the message I am getting about the ‘narrow victory.’ Victory means…well…victory. No guys, you didn’t almost win.
Then there is the Virginia finger-pointing amongst Republicans that really should remain inside the pack. Talk about not getting enough money or the Republican establishment that jumped bail and headed over into the McAuliffe camp seems probably best kept in-house. Perhaps they jumped bail because they saw a climate favorable to business rather than the hand wring over the 4-G’s that Cuccinelli and his buds were so famous for.
By all means, both parties should re-evaluate after an election. What went right, what went wrong are good things to ask. I think any time a candidate feels like he or she didn’t get the support needed then the question becomes, why? Not just why but why, regarding this candidate. Obviously Cuccinelli was too hot and heavy on the social issues and he really had no plans, that I heard, to grow Virginia’s economy or to help Virginia thrive in a sequester-hit economy. Virginia has been hit harder than any other state because of defense contracting and the huge presence of military in the Old Dominion.
Cuccinelli seemed to want to advance his own agenda and throw flames more than serve all Virginians. Perhaps those defecting mainstream Republicans were sending a strong message. Money talks and we know what walks. A lot of it didn’t come Cuccinelli’s way (money that is).
Yep…the RNC did send a message.
The message was that they would rather lose Virginia than win with the Tea Party supported candidates. Of course, the return message will be an increased willingness to primary establishment Republicans and withhold money.
As for Christie…why should Republicans congratulate the governor that helped elect Obama? Let him get congratulated by Obama…oh. That’s right. Obama snubbed him when he made calls to the winning candidates.
I don’t think that the Democrats need to reevaluate. I want them thinking that their win in Virginia is a mandate and that the Tea Party is defeated.
How did Christie help get Obama reelected? Surely you are kidding me. Do you honestly think that being civil was a drawback?
You had a candidate that probably could have won except he felt compelled to go all tea party/RR/elitist which turned off a lot of people.
Tell me someone who is tea party that you think could win the presidency.
And another question, just why do you think you can win with tea party candidates. Where are you going to find enough people to vote for them? Obviously it can be done on off year elections when voter turn out is low and the general public isn’t paying attention. However, it sure didn’t work for this past Virginia election.
It doesn’t work when people are paying attention.
Is it normal for presidents to call those not in their party? Do you suppose Bob McDonnell called Terry McAuliffe and congratulated him? How about Chris Christie? Ya think he called him?
@Moon-howler
Chuckle, chuckle ….
@Moon-howler
Yes… for the President to call them. The President of us ALL. But this president is partisan even there.
You are being silly, you know. You are one of the most partisan people on this blog but always the first to point it out when you feel someone else is being that way.
Who is keeping score? Apparently the news agencies. Apparently President Obama has called Chris Christie and congratulated him. He didn’t do it that night however.
Even the Democrats are noticing that the Tea Party is not what killed the election.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/11/frank-rich-gop-is-more-cuccinelli-than-christie.html
Excerpt:
Former DNC chief and longtime Clintonista Terry McAuliffe squeaked out a victory in the Virginia’s governor’s race. McAuliffe is widely viewed as a slick, somewhat unscrupulous operator and was running against an arch-conservative who had been dogged by scandal. What should we make of his narrow win in a state that has twice voted for Barack Obama? And does it say anything about the chances of a Clinton restoration in 2016?
This is a much more revealing election than New Jersey’s. Polls before Election Day showed McAuliffe with a lead nearing double digits, and in the case of a Washington Post survey, with a 24 percentage point lead among women. But in the end, he won by less than 3 percent, won women by 9 percent, and might have lost had a Libertarian third-party candidate not won 7 percent of the vote. The Republican whom McAuliffe barely beat, Ken Cuccinelli, was no Chris Christie. Cuccinelli is a true tea-party guy, and way to the right on social issues. He’s in favor of a “personhood” law that would outlaw some forms of contraception, and he is not just opposed to same-sex marriage but is an out-and-out homophobe. That he could come this close to winning in a swing state that twice went for Obama – and do so despite being vastly outspent and being tarred with the shutdown’s impact on Northern Virginia government workers – is a huge political talking point for a GOP base that believes the party’s future is a Paul or Cruz, not a Christie or Jeb Bush. As for this election’s impact on Hillary Clinton, I never saw it as a proxy for her supposed presidential run, despite McAuliffe’s strong association with both Clintons. Still, it is somewhat embarrassing that the Clintons’ strenuous campaign efforts for their pal had so little apparent positive effect.
There isn’t one reason for a republican loss. There are many reasons. Some has to do with influence of the tea party and others have to do with Cuccinelli himself and the policy he enacted against what is perceived as mainstream. He also had quite a record for attacks on reproductive rights. There was also the government shutdown that rubbed off on Cuccinelli. Virginia is a very red state if you get away from the cities and Northern Virginia.
So why are you looking at what someone living in New York has to say?
Your distain for how the other 75% lives is one reason for our intolerance of the tea party. You have seen to it that what I might have just considered a rude annoyance (based on the summer of the tea party where all those thugs disrupted town hall meetings and old ladies put tea bags on their hats and used them as earrings.) has become a lifetime ambition to fight back.
I can’t help myself. It is an alternative universe.
Apparently Cuccinelli’s folks were interviewed yesterday and they say it was because of the shutdown and $$ that never came in during that time.
I am not sure they are sitting in the most objective of seats to evaluate this but…their opinion certainly counts in the mix.i
Its really a shame that elections can be won and lost based on $$$$$. The amount spent on just delegate races is obscene.
They should stop whining about the money not coming in. It didn’t come in because of the candidate.
What Two Bellwether Counties Tell Us About the Republican Party’s FutureBy Josh Kraushaar, Peter Bell, Brian McGill and Stephanie StammNovember 6, 2013
What do Tuesday’s elections for governor say about the future of the Republican Party? The path to victory leads through the nation’s melting pot suburbs.
Look no further than Bergen County, N.J., and Fairfax County, Va., for the evidence. Both are the most populous in their state. Like the nation as a whole, both counties were once almost uniformly white and leaned Republican, but are now increasingly multiracial and vote Democratic in presidential elections.
Gov. Chris Christie won Bergen County by 46,000 votes, improving on his 2009 performance, when he narrowly lost the county to Democrat Jon Corzine. In contrast, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, best known for his social conservatism, lost Fairfax County by 60,000 votes. That’s a major step backward, given that current Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell narrowly won Fairfax in 2009. “Our guys don’t understand [suburban] areas like Northern Virginia, suburban Philadelphia, areas that used to be our base. We’re getting smoked in these areas,” said former Republican congressman Tom Davis, who represented a Fairfax County-based House seat from 1992 to 2008. “Northern Virginia is a disaster for Republicans, these [statewide candidates] do not know how to run up here. They focus so hard on the social issues, cultural stuff.”No wonder then, that Republican strategists have pointed to Christie’s resounding victory – racking up sizable leads in diverse, suburban parts of the Garden State via his moderate appeal – as a model for the party’s candidates to emulate. It works.
On his way to a statewide victory, Gov. Chris Christie won Bergen County by 46,000 votes, improving on his 2009 performance, when he narrowly lost the county to Democrat Jon Corzine. In contrast, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, best known for his social conservatism, lost Fairfax County by 66,000 votes, along with Tuesday’s election. That’s a major step backward, given that current Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell narrowly won Fairfax in 2009. McAuliffe also carried Prince William County, 52-44%, and Loudoun County, 50-45%.
“Our guys don’t understand [suburban] areas like Northern Virginia, suburban Philadelphia, areas that used to be our base. We’re getting smoked in these areas,” said former Republican congressman Tom Davis, who represented a Fairfax County-based House seat from 1992 to 2008. “Northern Virginia is a disaster for Republicans, these [statewide candidates] do not know how to run up here. They focus so hard on the social issues, cultural stuff.”
http://www.nationaljournal.com/hotline-on-call/what-two-bellwether-counties-tell-us-about-the-republican-party-s-future-20131106
Tom Davis nails it. Lose Fairfax, Prince William and Loudon and you lose Virginia.
cargo – you should call Cooch and let him know that it is customary for the loser to call the winner and congradulate them on their win – http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/report-cuccinelli-has-no-plans-to-call-mcauliffe
Obama did call Christie the day after the election – seeing that there were several people to call, I do not see it disrespectful to call the day after the election, especially since it does take a while to count all the votes and all.
Cuccinelli should call McAuliffe. I believe Creigh Deeds called McDonnell and congratulated him. That was also a contentious race, like most political races.
That’s too bad. I would expect for Cuccinelli to behave better.
@Moon-howler
I would expect for Cuccinelli to behave better. – No. You would HOPE that he would behave better but his behavior is what the electorate expected which is one reason why he is not the Gov-Elect.
I stand corrected. You are right, Pat.
I think Northam should seek out E.W. Jackson and finally shake that Black man’s hand in front of the cameras. That stupid Northam move after the last debate looked like Virginia in 1913, not 2013.
Going after the race card, eh, Wolverine.
Let’s see, Northam is stupid? Is there anyone else you would like to denigrate? I bet you didn’t even watch the debate, did you?
I left you a message after the last nasty remark you made here.
The race card?!! Me?!!!! Are you kidding! Old Northam did it. On tape. For everybody to see. Yes, stupid. And shameful. Why would anyone in this day and age refuse to shake hands with an opponent after a debate, much less an opponent of color, when one is running for high office? You think that was a good move?
Nasty remark? Tell me, Madam, are you the one who labelled a Congressional committee a “monky court” and then crapped all over that female GOP Congresswoman six ways to Sunday? I ask for equal crap dumping time. You’ve been allowing Starryflights to use some right nasty language against conservatives at will for a long time. I ask the Chair for equal time. It’s the American way.