Apparently that is what George Bush thinks as he tries to shove “F$#% the Border, let em all in” Mel Martinez as RNC Chair instead of the very popular black Conservative Michael Steele. Really, it’s bad enough we had our clock cleaned in the election, but let’s go farther and completely destroy the base so there is NO chance we are competitive and keep the White House and take back Congress.
Bloggers bummed
Conservatives bloggers who were among the most enthusiastic supporters of outgoing Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele to become chairman of the Republican National Committee are also the harshest critics of the White House’s choice of Florida Sen. Mel Martinez for that post.
An online poll at HotAir.com drew more than 3,000 responses, with about 93 percent of the popular site’s visitors preferring Mr. Steele, prompting blogger Ian Schwartz to ask, “When will the RNC try to keep its diminishing base instead of looking for new members?”
“Count me thoroughly demoralized,” Mary Katherine Ham said at TownHall.com. “Not only is this guy not a terribly distinguished senator, but his pick is a transparent little identity politics stunt.”
Miss Ham urged readers to write to the Republican Party (info@gop.com), as did Michelle Malkin, who called Mr. Martinez “a squish on border security.”
“Has the GOP learned anything?” Mrs. Malkin wrote at her site (www.michellemalkin.com).
Meanwhile, at RedState.com, one despondent contributor said that he would have preferred “a lobotomized sea lion” to Mr. Martinez, since the sea lion would “at least know to bark to get some kind of fish on command.”
Laryn adds:
The RNC hasn’t had a chance to vote on this yet. There’s still six weeks until the RNC meets in January, and that’s six weeks to get up a posse of pissed-off bloggers, talk-radio hosts and ordinary grassroots Republicans to raise so much holy hell that the RNC will be ready to tar-and-feather the gutless RINO scumbags who tried to shove Mr. Schiavo Memo down our throats.
There is nobody important on the right side of the blogosphere who supports Martinez. Let me run down the reaction …
Michelle Malkin:
Has the GOP learned anything? … More thumbs down from the conservative base, not that anyone cares about them anymore.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiller:Goodbye, GOP.
And F*** YOU VERY MUCH.
The Hamlette:
I really want a reason to be excited about these guys and they refuse to give me one.
AllahPundit:
Martinez has been a disaster on immigration. …
Hot Air commenters agree: it’s an awful pick, transparently aimed at appealing to pro-amnesty Hispanic voters. If the GOP goes ahead and puts Boehner and Blunt back in place in the minority leadership, you’re looking at a very dire electoral situation in 2008.
IMAO:
The Republicans seem intent on rewarding Mel’s low approval rating with more power.
Really, is there any reason to this at all other than just pandering to Hispanics?
Daily Pundit:
We’ve got to drag the RINOs from the building. There’s no other way.
Captain Ed:
Martinez supported the McCain-Kennedy comprehensive reform plan, as did Bush. For those who see that as a major problem in energizing the base, choosing him as RNC chair seems like putting out a fire with gasoline.
Texas Hold ‘Em Blogger:
These guys are making Howard Dean look brilliant by comparison.
Stout Republican:
Way to throw Conservative Legitimacy in the [toilet]. … The Republican Party just turns tail and runs any time the issues get too “hot” for them to handle. … So…what now? Are they going to nominate Mel Gibson as the ambassador to Israel?
Lady Jane:
We all complained and wrote and did all that we could to remind the GOP leadership that to win the election, they would have to return to the Conservative ideals that got them elected. Obviously, they didn’t listen or read.
Also: Dan Riehl, GOP Bloggers, Patterico, and Iowa Voice.
I think some Freepers are ready to send Karl Rove an anthrax letter.
Sarah K sends an e-mail to the Dumb Stupid Heads:
To: Dumb Stupid Heads (info@gop.com)
From: SarahK (sarahk -at- sarahk ::dot:: us)
Subject: Did you miss the election or something?
Message:
I’m just wondering, because appointing Mel Martinez chair was about the dumbest thing you guys could have done. … Y’all have lost me. Completely. I will possibly never vote Republican again. … Shame on you for abandoning us.
Bizzyblog also wrote to them:
As a member of the base you appear to be abandoning, allow me to make two points:
- The current apparent pick is a sitting Senator, and … putting someone who actually is voting on laws and resolutions (in charge) is inappropriate bordering on irrational.
- Michael Steele ran such a stellar campaign to get as far as he did in the Maryland Senate race. He is a passionate and outstanding spokesperson that who the party could rally around. Frankly, selecting anyone else would be foolish.
I am surely supported by millions of other Republicans BEGGING you to PLEASE select Michael Steele.
You, too, can send an e-mail to the Dumb Stupid Heads.
UPDATE: Allah’s back and, as usual, he’s not optimistic:
Rove allegedly leaked his name before any formal decision had been made. Why? Just maybe to head off any grassroots groundswell for Michael Steele among the membership before it got started and assure that their fair-haired boy, Senator Mel, would be in a position of authority to campaign on behalf of the amnesty bill Bush is so hot for.
My theory? They’ve gone freakin’ nuts at 1600 Pa. Ave.
It should not even be close. Steele is very popular and has some national name recognition now, and he seems to be attracting many blacks to the Republican party, which in itself is a near miracle. Mel Martinez is not nearly as widely known, and is sure to piss off the base. How arrogant and stupid are they? You thought they would have learned something from the election.
I’ll never vote for the Democrats as long as they remain the party of treason, but seriously, if Bush and Co. turns the GOP into the Party of illegal aliens, I will vote Libertarian, or Constitution, or something, even if I am throwing my vote away.
They have been warned!
“We’ve got to drag the RINOs from the building. There’s no other way.”
That’s fine but you are then talking about making the party smaller. In other words, more appealing to a smaller number of people. People dragged from a party are not likely to vote for it. People not already a member of the party is not likely to vote for a party that goes more extreme in a direction away from them.
So what it looks like you are really talking about is making the party smaller but more idogically pure. That’s fine provided you have some other third party to form a coalition with but in a two party system you have basically just cut your own throat.
The resulting party might have much more appeal to the remaining members but it is likely to have much less appeal to everyone else. That doesn’t tend to get parties elected. The Republicans need to broaden their appeal at this point, not narrow it.
It isn’t the base that carries a party to victory, it is the party that carries the most independents that decides elections in the US.
The Anchoress » No, really, I can’t blog today…
[...] BUSH: SCREW ALL YOUR BASE?: Flopping Aces is rounding up all the angry conservative reaction to Mel Martinez and shaking the fist. Powerline is kind of neutral on it and Hutchison is saying, quit bawlin’ and step center. I think I have opined previously on this question of base-screwing. I think “the base” abandoned Bush starting with the Miers nomination – a bit of rope-a-dope our strategy-minded president never got to play out – and they’ve rather enjoyed pummeling him on almost everything since then, portraying him as the chuckle-head who never seems to know just how important things are, or how vital it is that the president listen only to them. I think it’s debatable at this point who abandoned who. [...]