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Redstate...
The
Most Important Fight For
Conservatives in America
Posted by Erick Erickson
Thursday, December 8th
Forget
the Presidential race. We can
get back to it another day. This is the most important fight for the
conservative
movement in America right now and it happens next week.
Well,
it was going to happen in
January. But conservatives started gaining momentum. Naturally, Mitch
McConnell
had to go try to pull the rug out from under conservatives. Far be it
for fresh
ideas to enter into the hallowed corridors of Senate Republican power.
I’m
talking about the Senate
Republicans’ leadership fight for Vice Chairman of the Republican
Conference.
There is an election to fill that seat.
The
election was to be held in
January. The only declared candidate was Senator Ron Johnson of
Wisconsin (HAFA
Score 91%). But then Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri (HAFA Score 64%)
announced
this week he wanted the job too. Immediately after announcing his
entry,
Senator Mitch McConnell moved the election up from January to next week
and
began whipping votes on behalf of Senator Roy Blunt.
Both
Senators Blunt and Johnson are
freshman senators. But prior to 2010, Senator Blunt spent 14 years in
the House
of Representatives. Prior to 2010, Senator Johnson was the CEO of a
private
manufacturing firm in Wisconsin.
I
like both senators tremendously, but
for conservatives Ron Johnson is a no brainer here. Senator Blunt’s
thinking is
the same thinking that has plagued Senate Republicans for a decade now
— the
same old ideas and same old strategies.
Ron
Johnson is also one of the very
unique bridge builders between conservatives and the establishment. He
was the
one Senate candidate in 2010 that both the GOP Establishment and Tea
Party
agreed on. The National Republican Senatorial Committee, Jim DeMint’s
Senate
Conservatives Fund, and RedState all aligned behind Senator Johnson in
the
primary.
One
might think Senator McConnell and
his colleagues would want to find some level of truce with
conservatives and
give them a seat at the table with Senator Johnson. Instead, they are
ramping
up the election to shut us out.
If
we really want the Senate GOP to
turn the corner, we need guys like Ron Johnson at the table. It is
important
that if you have a Republican Senator you call them today and ask them
to
support Senator Johnson for Senate Republican Conference Vice Chairman.
Frankly,
rejecting Johnson for a seat
at the table will be a big sign that the Senate GOP needs further
cleaning in
the primaries.
Read
this and other columns at
Redstate
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