Primaries and RINOs

For John, BLUF:  I believe the Democrats are still not getting it.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Republicans are paying a price for their extremism

The GOP’s self-destructive primaries have cost it a lot of power, particularly in the Senate. By Ezra Klein@ezraklein Dec 14, 2017, 10:50am EST.

Here is the lede plus one:

It’s an article of faith among many Democrats that Republicans have somehow escaped the electoral consequences for the increasing extremism of their party. Doug Jones’s narrow victory over Roy Moore on Tuesday night looked, to many liberals, like a rare exception. But as political scientist Matt Glassman points out, it’s far from alone.

Starting around the 2010 Tea Party surge, Republican voters have repeatedly chosen the most extreme candidates during primaries, and have paid a real electoral price, particularly in the Senate.

And then he goes on to list five examples going back to 2010.

I am living in a nation populated by a lot of pundits who just don't get it.

It provides clarity of thought once you acknowledge that the various Tea Parties were not extremists, but rather folks who wanted adherence to the principles of the Republican Party.  That is to say, no RINOs—no Republicans in Name Only.

There is this group of people out there, enough to get Mr Donald Trump the Electoral College votes he needed to be President.  They are concerned about RINOs in office, about people on Capitol Hill who are hard to distinguish from Democrats, except for the Democratic Party urge for a Sampson Solution to the current Presidency.  These voters, in other states, are not so keen on the Mitt Romney or Jeb Bush leaders of the Party.

Hat tip to Memeorandum.

Regards  —  Cliff