The Republican civil war
A group of GOP figures are going to host a conference in what appears to be an effort to take control of the message and the party and to try and push out some of the crazy. (Articles on this at CNN, Politico, and the WaPo)
Probably the most interesting bit of this is who's in and who is out. In: Haley Barbour, Jeb Bush, Jindal, and Romney. (Palin was invited, but has not committed.)
Out: Michael Steele and Newt Gingrich.
To me, this looks like an effort by Haley Barbour and the Bush family to retake their influence in the party and to get their hooks into the most likely 2012 leading figures.
Interestingly, it's the power grabbing Cantor that supposedly played a key role in putting this thing together.
Inevitably, something like this works by emphasizing certain issues and ignoring others. The question always becomes, do those on the outside try to work their way in (Gingrich, Huckabee) or use the ignored hotbutton issues to try and pry the group apart.
And then, of course, there's the broader question of whether it works at all....
Related: (NYTimes) G.O.P. Debate: A Broader Party or a Purer One?
Probably the most interesting bit of this is who's in and who is out. In: Haley Barbour, Jeb Bush, Jindal, and Romney. (Palin was invited, but has not committed.)
Out: Michael Steele and Newt Gingrich.
To me, this looks like an effort by Haley Barbour and the Bush family to retake their influence in the party and to get their hooks into the most likely 2012 leading figures.
Interestingly, it's the power grabbing Cantor that supposedly played a key role in putting this thing together.
Inevitably, something like this works by emphasizing certain issues and ignoring others. The question always becomes, do those on the outside try to work their way in (Gingrich, Huckabee) or use the ignored hotbutton issues to try and pry the group apart.
And then, of course, there's the broader question of whether it works at all....
Related: (NYTimes) G.O.P. Debate: A Broader Party or a Purer One?
posted by mikevotes at
8:01 AM
4 Comments:
Looking at the CNN article, it's hard to see this as anything more than a new round of McCain's "town halls".
Colour me sceptical.
By
Todd Dugdale , at 1:48 PM
On the face of it, yeah, but I think it's part of a larger effort by the Bush's and Barbour to try and take the party back from the brink by pulling levers.
What I think they're trying to do is establish themselves as issue definers and platform establishers. To make their forums as important as the pro life or Christiuan ones, for instance.
I don't think it'll work either, but they're trying to build a non-Christian conservative edifice.
By
mikevotes, at 3:01 PM
If this new series of "town halls" is run like McCain's were, these "Council meetings" will be scripted and contrived affairs designed to make the GOP look more popular and credible than it really is.
If we see that the vast majority of the questioners are pre-selected and their questions pre-approved, then this is an exercise in self-delusion.
It doesn't have to be that way, of course, but I just don't see these Party leaders exposing themselves to criticism from "nobodies", much less facing real challenges to the common fantasy that the majority of the nation agrees with the Republicans on the issues.
By
Todd Dugdale , at 6:28 PM
I getcha, but I think the townhalls are a public gimmick and platform to promote the folks they want.
I see the townhalls as the public front for a larger effort to insert themselves into the new front people.
They're trying to promote and create that new face, and from their role in that, there will be lots of backroom leverage to try and influence the party.
That's why Barbour is so involved. He's the backroom guy.
Again, I don't know if it will work, I tend to think not, but they're gonna try.
(Also, Crist isn't allowed?)
By
mikevotes, at 6:50 PM
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