Whining Coming From Losers

by | Jun 10, 2014 | Carolina Strategic Analysis, Features, NCGOP, US Senate | 10 comments

Sometimes the people in my party can be a bit, well … “stupid” is too generous a word. I’m speaking of the “conservative” effort to qualify former State Rep. John Rhodes as a write-in candidate for U.S. Senate. You might remember Rhodes as the guy who lost to Tillis in a legislative primary eight years ago, reemerging recently to try to derail his former opponent’s campaign for Senate. Among other things, Rhodes attacked Tillis for possibly paintballing his neighbor’s barn.

A little explanation is in order, because the whole “write-in” thing is confusing. John Rhodes is not going to be on the ballot in November. This group is collecting signatures so that, if one does choose to write in Rhodes’ name, the votes will go to him and not just be tallied under the “write-in” category. It also gives legitimacy and organization to the campaign.

And it helps Kay Hagan, immensely. There’s already a potential spoiler by the name of Sean Haugh, who is taking votes disproportionately from Tillis. Hagan doesn’t need to win a majority in November, she just needs to place ahead of Tillis. If the conservative movement is divided, she might just need 45%. That’s not a recipe for ousting Harry Reid and taking back the U.S. Senate. That’s a recipe for losing.

Ultimately, I’m not concerned about the Rhodes write-in movement in and of itself. I don’t think it will get any traction beyond the most hardcore Tea Party activists. But it’s symptomatic of a larger problem: the suicidal tendency for conservatives to take their ball and go home if they don’t get everything their way.

Interestingly, the Democrats don’t seem to have the same problem. Progressives moan and complain about “corporate” Democrats but still go on to vote for people like Heath Shuler, Mike McIntyre, and yes, Kay Hagan. They know they’re better off with someone who’s with them 70% of the time or even 51% of the time instead of someone who’s against them 100% of the time. Maybe they’re smarter than we are.

If this is true for someone who’s 51% conservative, how much more for someone who’s a 95/5 conservative like Tillis? Listen, you can disagree with his style and his tactics, but Thom Tillis is a conservative, plain and simple. There are few people more responsible for the dramatic rightward shift in the state’s political landscape. He may not be your first choice, but he’s a good conservative and he deserves your support in November.

Wanted someone who’s a 100% conservative instead of a 95% or a 97% conservative? You should have gotten better candidates. Plain and simple. Or maybe you should have worked harder. Or played around more on Twitter. But it doesn’t matter now. It’s time to suck it up, put on your own big-boy pants, and support Thom Tillis in November. Because when a conservative stays at home, or even worse, writes in John Rhodes, it doesn’t sound like they want to win. Instead, it sounds like whining coming from losers.

10 Comments

  1. Ray

    “[T]he whole “write-in” thing is confusing. [….] This group is collecting signatures so that, if one does choose to write in Rhodes’ name, the votes will go to him and not just be tallied under the ‘write-in’ category.”

    You’re confused too. Write-in votes for unpetitioned candidates get DISCARDED, not tallied under a generic category. Such votes “shall not be recorded on the abstract and shall not be counted for any purpose,” says NCGS 163-123(f).

    The government is picking and choosing which votes to count.

  2. Jimmy Rouse

    It all goes back to when Glenn Beck said that Brannon was the most qualified candidate that he had ever seen and that Glenn wanted to kiss him in the mouth.

    That is like manna from heaven for Tea Partiers and they just could not understand that the voters did not listen to Glenn.

    After Brannon lost to Thom (without even a runoff) the Tea Party crowd went into shock. To prove their relevance they must reelect Kay or else people will think the NC Tea Party has lost their swagger.

    The Tea Partiers are also mad at Thom because he never mentions Agenda 21, fluoridated water, the Aurora Op, TSA electric shock bracelets and microchips implanted in your brain. If Thom never mentions this stuff he obviously is not grounded as to what is going on in North Carolina.

    I think the Tea Party strategy is to reelect Hagan so that the Democrats will take them into the Democratic Party. Word is that Chairman Voller has starting drinking tea and that the Tea Party crowd has pictures of Randy on their walls.

    But the Tea Party does bring flavor to the race. What would a circus be without the clowns?

  3. Mick

    ” The RNC and the NCGOP seem to be stubbornly refusing to learn the lesson that they don’t get to win anymore unless their candidates pass muster with those who want to see a dramatic downsizing in the size and scope of government. I would have though that losing two straight Presidential elections would have driven the message home, but they appear to need another object lesson….”

    I think it’s more likely that “they don’t get to win anymore” unless their candidates pass muster with those who want to see an end to gridlock, and ability to legislate and compromise, and bipartisan consideration of “the common good.” The GOP lost the last two presidential elections not because they weren’t conservative enough, but rather because they were viewed as rigid and extreme “haves” who did the bidding of big business and the wealthy, and advocated closing good and effective government programs down. In short, they scared more Americans than they inspired.

  4. brotherdoc

    I urge all TP people to write in John Rhodes. Go with your convictions. That’s not whining. Yeah, that’s the ticket! (If you can count, refer back to para 3 of the original article.)

  5. Adam

    Exactly. There’s an awful lot of butthurt coming from NCGOP flacks these days, which mostly results from conservatives not falling in line just because Thom Tillis said to. The RNC and the NCGOP seem to be stubbornly refusing to learn the lesson that they don’t get to win anymore unless their candidates pass muster with those who want to see a dramatic downsizing in the size and scope of government. I would have though that losing two straight Presidential elections would have driven the message home, but they appear to need another object lesson, and I think that’s what they’re going to get. We’ll see if it takes this time.

    • Robert

      The GOP crafted the primary rules to give the nomination to someone with less than a majority vote, then they fielded a candidate who knowingly would split the independent vote so that their chosen candidate could go in, now they want us all to fall in line and support their chosen candidate who has a terrible track record. Unaffiliated voters now make up 26% of NC voters. The number is growing because the parties are not supporting the candidates who support individuals. The party is fielding the candidates who support the party and big government. If those are the qualifications necessary, Tillis fits the bill. Let the GOP gasp for air as the independent voters walk away. My vote – MY choice!

  6. larry

    I am confused…who exactly is doing the “whining”? Based on your post you seem to be pointing at lots of other folks when in reality sounds to me like you are doing a awful lot of whining.

  7. Mick

    Wow. Finally, an article by John Wynne that I can mostly agree with, especially these parts:

    “Sometimes the people in my party can be a bit, well … “stupid”. An observation seconded after election day 2012 by GOP Gov. Jindal.

    “But it’s symptomatic of a larger problem: the suicidal tendency for conservatives to take their ball and go home if they don’t get everything their way.” Yup. That’s what they tend to do because lately “compromise” and “cooperation” and “the common good” are not concepts they understand or believe in.

    “Maybe they’re smarter than we are.” No “maybe” about it. Dems/progressives are waaay smarter than currrent-day Republicans.

    “Thom Tillis is a conservative, plain and simple. There are few people more responsible for the dramatic rightward shift in the state’s political landscape.” I agree. But I’d call it a “righteous regressive shift.”

    • Thomas Ricks

      To be smart, one must learn. To learn, one must accept reality around you. Since all conservatives are LIARS, that makes anyone not conservative more intelligent than conservatives.

  8. Max

    Please keep campaigning for Mr. Tillis by using the dumbest words that ever left his mouth. Makes me very hopeful for November.

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