The Pink Flamingo :: The Growing Uncivil War in the GOP

If New Mexico is anything like the rest of the country (not that we ever are) there is a very real problem in the Republican Party. The same thing is going on in Arizona, where the hard-line extremists are battling for the heart and soul of the state’s GOP. (I’m linking to the Feather Bastard’s search page on Russell Pearce – no relation to Steve. That should be enuf said about Arizona and the problems there).

NOT CONSERVATIVE ENOUGH
The battle began several weeks ago when the GOP Chairman of Chavez County (Roswell) warned several of the “conservative” newcomers who were challenging our very good local Republican officeholders. It started getting nasty when good solid Republicans were no longer good enough. It is the entire country in a microcosm. Suddenly good, decent Republicans no longer pass some mythological purity test.

Rod Adair, who has been in the NM Senate for ages is a good, solid, decent Republican, serving the people of this are admirably. His challenger, has run over $200,000 in local TV spots. For New Mexico, that’s a heck of a lot. From what I’ve heard, his challenger, Rory McMinn, who is running as ideologically “pure” is a put up job by some local Dems to get Adair out of office. BUT – as long as McMinn runs as “pure” he’s “Pure” right?

Let’s put it this way, I’ve been involved in GOP politics most of my life. I’ve never seen a local Senate campaign get this dirty, by the challenger, from the same party. Yesterday when I picked up my mail, there was a quarter inch worth of flyers just on that one race. There was 1 for the US Senate primary between Wilson and Pearce, and 1 for the hotly contested House seat Pearce is vacating. The rest were on that one state senate campaign. I’ve been getting calls – constantly for the past two days, push-polling.

Or is there another story behind the story? Don’t be seduced by “conservative” labels. The Dems have learned how to use them and how to outsmart us. The person sponsoring McMinn is named Mark Murphy and he basically controls every gas station in this part of the state. He is holding the whole region hostage with his prices that cause us to pay some of the highest prices in the country. McMinn is his flunkie. Murphy owns a refinery. He is the wealthiest person in the state. What he wants, he gets. No one has the courage to touch him.

PEARCE-WILSON RACE
Pearce is ahead of Wilson by 6 points. I like Steve Pearce. I’ve voted for him in his first primary. If he wins, I will, without hesitation, vote for him. My problem is the fact that in order to pull off a win, Pearce has gone far more conservative than he actually is. We have a serious problem here in New Mexico. It is one of the reasons I started blogging.
Pearce is push-polling against Wilson. I had one of the calls this evening. I don’t like Yes or No answers.

“…But the story this Sunday is Pearce and his unapologetic conservative message. "Pearce's message of being the consistent conservative appears to have worked," said Journal pollster Brian Sanderoff, in the game since the 70's. If Pearce wins this thing, and it will now be a Wilson upset if he doesn't, it will be on the strength of the southern congressional district he has represented since 2002, and in particular the "Little Texas" counties straddling the Texas border. Pearce is trouncing Wilson 64% to 23% there. As expected, Heather holds a commanding lead in the ABQ area, beating Pearce 57% to 27%. But my experts say with Pearce's expected power in the south, a 60-40 win in the ABQ area may not be enough for Wilson. She may need to hit over 65% here, a tall order indeed. In the northern district the two contenders are more competitive, with Pearce leading 46% to 37%. The poll was taken May 27-29 and has a margin of error of 4%. Wilson now needs a light turnout in the south and a heavy one in ABQ, but southern Republicans have a competitive congressional primary to vote on, whereas in ABQ the congressional race is a dud and not pulling in the crowds….”

INDEPENDENT RUNNING AS REPUBLICAN
The 2nd District Congressional race is nasty. I like Ear Greer. Unfortunately we are being subjected to a “conservative” onslaught, which proves why Republicans can’t win a blasted thing. If it is up to someone like Aubry Dunn, then they deserve to lose. They don’t have the courage to run independent, so they slither up under the fence and run as “conservative” GOP as if that is some sort of buzz-word.

The below came from a source, one of the top manipulators in the HARD RIGHT, non GOP Anti-immigration power-sphere in the country. This person lives here in Lincoln County. Dunn has been endorsed by the Minutemen and Joe Arpaio. That’s enough for me! No way in H-E-Double Toothpick I’ll vote for this man. Dunn is another of those extreme conservatives who are killing the GOP. If he made it to the general election, I’d never vote for him. Anyone who is endorsed by Joe Arpaio loses my vote immediately.

“…Dear Friends:  On Tuesday, June 3rd… Aubrey Dunn.  Aubrey Dunn is a rancher and retired banker from Lincoln County. As our next Congressman, Aubrey's priorities will be to protect our border, cut taxes, curb out-of-control spending, and defend the American family. He opposes amnesty for illegals, and he was the FIRST candidate in this race to sign the Americans for Tax Reform pledge against higher taxes. He has led on this issue, while others have followed.   Aubrey and his wife, Robin, are parents of three children, and they own and operate a forty-section ranch on the Lincoln/Chaves county line.   Aubrey is endorsed by tough-on-crime Sheriff Joe Arpaio, as well as the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps Political Action Committee. Aubrey has received an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association's Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF). The letter -- signed by Charles H. Cunningham, Director of Federal Affairs at NRA-PVF -- stated, "As you know, our Second Amendment rights and hunting heritage are very important to voters in New Mexico and your positions demonstrate a commitment to the rights of law-abiding gun owners and sportsmen. We appreciate your support."

I believe that Aubrey Dunn is, by far, the best candidate in this race on the issue of protecting the border and cracking down on illegal immigration.

I had some concerns about the allegations being made against Aubrey so I asked him to clear them up for me.

I am passing that information on to you in his own words.  Changing Parties:   My father was a conservative Democrat and by all of today's standards was more conservative than most republicans today. He helped set up the severance tax fund and worked to keep taxes low and government expense down. He ran against Tony Anaya for Governor and lost largely because he was pro right to work and not for the big labor unions. That being said I started out a democrat until 1995 when I switched to Republican. In 2007 we traded ranches and we moved from Chaves County to Lincoln County, I changed my registration to Independent because I was disappointed in the opportunity the Republican Party had missed in solving our illegal immigration problem and out of control spending. When Steve Pearce announced his bid for Pete Domenic's seat I first considered running as an Independent, but decided that would only make it possible for a Democrat to win. I then decided to change back to Republican and work from within the party to bring it back to the basics.  Patriot Act  I have come out against some parts of the Patriot Act dealing with 4th Amendment Rights to Privacy and on issues of the 2nd Amendments rights. Much of the Act is good, but I fear we have given the Federal Government the ability to spy on its citizens without having to go through the court system. I understand the argument that if you have nothing to hide why should you care, but if we want to trust our lives to the government then we might as well socialize all aspects of our life including health care, farming, oil, and religion….

I hope that this has cleared up the misinformation put out by Aubrey’s opponents. I truly believe Aubrey is the best man in this race and will represent not only the citizens of this district but the core beliefs of all freedom loving Americans.  I urge you to vote for Aubrey Dunn in the Republican Primary for Congress on Tuesday, June 3rd….”

WHY REPUBLICANS ARE LOSING CONGRESS
If the recent GOP losses in Congress are based on candidates like Dunn, well, we have a problem. I would never vote for someone like this, and I am a good Republican. If Dunn is an example of what passes for “conservative” we have a problem and the GOP is going to go down in flames. I just wish we would ‘wise up’ and create a litmus test for Republican candidates, both local, statewide, and national. The one reason the GOP is losing now is we are the victim of our success. Everyone and their grandmother wanted to run GOP, no matter how corrupt. Years ago we were so disparate to get anyone to run we would take anyone and their grandmother, no matter how much a jerk they were. We an now afford to be a little bit picky. Maybe the time has come to start developing a little good taste for a change.

SOCIALIST VIEW ON PROPERTY RIGHTS
One of the problems within conservative ranks is the fact that through the durn border fence, they’ve surrendered the high ground on protecting property rights. CA is having another war on property rights. The problem is there is now this SOCIALISTIC view within the Hard Right (my new term) conservative ranks, people like Laura Ingraham think it is okay for the feds to take private property for the need of the many. That’s Marxism. That’s why the GOP is losing (one of the reasons).

ABJECT CORRUPTION
Did you catch the piece on FOX last night about earmarks and corruption. No wonder Dennis Hastert quit. The man turned out to be a slime

“..As our prospects for increasing our numbers in the House and Senate are, at best, grim, our only hope is to keep the White House. The collective group of idiots known as the GOP (with exceptions such as Coburn, Cornyn, Kyl and a few - very few- others) hasn't learned a thing from 2006 - and they don't understand why voters have turned against them. Losing Hastert's seat, not to mention the 2 that followed should have gotten their attention. But they've learned nothing. It's pork as usual, spineless as usual. I'm going to stop here. I'm about to go into rant mode....” Paul Cruce

IMMIGRATION REFORM
Elizabeth Dole is betting her Senate seat on very hard line anti-immigration reform. Let’s see if she loses.
From the National Immigration Justice Center