FreedomWorks falling in line with the RNC?
To paraphrase El Rushbo — the closer you are geographically to DC, and the longer you stay there, the less conservative you become over time.
I fear that piece of wisdom may be ringing true in the case of FreedomWorks. That organization attempts to position itself as the brains and the brawn behind The Tea Party movement. It sponsored the historic 9/12/09 march on Washington — which was basically the big national coming-out party for the Tea Party. (I was a proud participant in that event.)
At that time, the Tea Party was all about ripping power away from the Ruling Class and returning it to the people. It was about bringing the common sense approach to life — practiced by so many hardworking, overtaxed Americans — to governing. Freedomworks positioned itself as the voice of those seeking to inject more freedom into American society and to admonish those in both parties who worship at the altar of big government.
Well, let’s look at how things have gone in North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District. Eric Cantor, John Boehner and the boys parachuted professional political flunky Richard Hudson into the district at the last minute to run in the GOP primary. He ended up in a runoff — after a bruising multi-candidate primary — with Scott Keadle, who was backed by The Club for Growth, RedState and a LOT of Tea Party supporters. Cantor & co. spent more than a half-million on the runoff to slander and destroy Keadle. Hudson ended up winning the runoff, and Tea Party folks went off to lick their wounds, after being so thoroughly routed and rebuked by the folks they helped gain a House majority.
Fast forward to today. I got an email from Freedomworks North Carolina trying to line up volunteers to campaign door-to-door FOR Richard Hudson. So, the group supposedly so much in favor of removing career politicians from office and replacing them with average Americans is backing career political hack Hudson? Until late 2011, when he moved back to North Carolina, Hudson had been working as a staffer on Capitol Hill. His runoff victory was bought and paid for by Eric Cantor and John Boehner. I think those two need to get out in their Gucci loafers and campaign door-to-door for their Boy Wonder / future puppet.
The establishment spent a ton of money during the primaries and runoffs stomping the guts out of Tea Party candidates. Now, they expect us to hang our heads, say “Yassuh, boss” and fall in line. As we’ve seen far too often since the elections of 2010, being a Republican and being conservative and pro-freedom are quite often mutually exclusive.
I will admit that Kissell is undesirable and needs to go. But can’t we do better than a political lapdog and career hack like Richard Hudson?
I share your frustration about their priorities. Freedom Works should have engaged for the conservatives and against the establishment in the primary. They didn’t, so it is rather maddening when they jump in to help the establishment guy in the general election. One could have respected that a lot more if they had been engaged on the right side in the primary.
That said, calculations tend to be a bit different when it comes to a general election, when all engaged from establishment to conservatives are looking at winning a majority and beating any liberal in sight, even if the Republican is less than good. I noticed Hudson on the GOA list, too, and it made me cringe a bit knowing that they are a solid conservative group, but I realized why they did it (of course the gunrights group that fawns over incumbents, NRA, is backing Kissell, as would be expected since he is the incumbent).
Another example is idiot Akin in Missouri, who is a social issues conservative but often out to lunch on other issues, particular tax and spend issues of concern to the Tea Party. After his foot in the mouth meltdown, many abandoned him, including his establishment buds who had backed him in the primary against two Tea Party oriented candidates. Recently, he has gotten backing from an unusual source, Sen. Jim DeMint’s Senate Conservatives Fund. They realized how important a majority in the Senate was, even if that had to be obtained with a loose cannon like Akin. They did make him promise to mend some of his spending ways like his fondness for earmmarks, but they are now trying to help him win the seat since he refused to withdraw. They realize that Akin, with all his warts, is the only game in town to take that seat away from the Democrat liberal incumbent.
In short, while I have some understanding of why Freedom Works is engaged at this point, what makes me see red is – why the heck were they missing in action in the primary if they consider this seat important?????????????
I also give Freedom Works credit for being the only conservative group willing to stand up and fight to try to replace establishment hack Orrin Hatch in the Utah Senate primary with a good conservative. I just wish they had engaged in the NC 8th the same way in the primary.