The Old Bulls Don’t Like It

The Old Bulls Don’t Like It 

The old bulls never like it when they are replaced by young bulls.  Who would?  The old bulls I’m referring to are the current leaders of the Republican Party.  They like things just the way they are.  Karl Rove may not be chronically old, be he certainly epitomizes the “Old Bulls” of the Republican Party.  They call themselves conservatives, but they are far from it.  Karl even authored a biography titled, “Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight,” and he labels himself as a conservative on FOX News. 

However, the real Karl Rove that I have known for many years revealed himself on FNC’s Hannity's America show this past Tuesday (September 14, 2010).  While I have spoken to Karl, I really don’t know him personally, but many years back I saw him in action as the leader of the “me-too” Republican forces at a Texas College Republican convention.  I was a delegate to that convention and it was the conservatives against the Karl Rove pragmatists.  To put it simply, Karl was always on the wrong side of every battle within the Republican Party when it came to liberals vs. conservatives.  Karl is a nice guy, but he’s no conservative.  He never will be.  He is the ultimate pragmatic, deal making Republican.  He’s of the go along to get along variety of Republicans.

Old Bulls like Karl Rove really dislike principled Republicans like Jim DeMint who can’t be bought.  They might say that the problem is that “you can’t do business with Jim.”  What they really mean is that he can’t be bought through committee assignments or pork barrel largesse – he can’t be controlled.

And right now the Old Bulls are scared and mad.  They endorsed and sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to “moderate” Republicans like Charlie Crist in Florida, Bob Bennett in Utah, Jane Norton in Colorado, Sue Lowden in Nevada, Trey Grayson in Kentucky, Mike Castle in Delaware, and Lisa Murkowski in Alaska, but thanks to Jim DeMint’s Senate Conservatives Fund (www.senateconservatives.com) and Tea Party conservatives like Sarah Palin, all these go along to get along Republicans were defeated by principled conservatives. 

The Old Bulls, as epitomized by Karl Rove, have blown a gasket.  They are outraged that these upstart, can’t be bought conservatives are about to seize power in the Republican Party.  That’s why Karl Rove lost it on the Hannity’s America show.  He and the other Bulls just can’t stand the thought of men and women of uncompromising values taking over the Republican Party.  They believe these new Republicans just don’t get it.  They believe that a principled Republican can’t win.

They said exactly the same thing about Ronald Reagan when he ran for President.  They said we had to nominate a moderate Republican like Gerald Ford (1976) or George Bush ’41 (1980) in order to win.  They were wrong then and they are wrong now.  It was Ronald Reagan who carried 49 states when he ran for re-election against Walter Mondale in 1984.  That was, of course, after he cleaned Jimmy Carter’s clock in 1980, sweeping in with him a Republican majority in the US Senate.  The real lesson is that principled conservatives win and pragmatic Republicans (who raise taxes like Bush) lose.

Old Bulls like Karl Rove always say that conservatives can’t win.  That’s why they support Crist, Bennett, Norton, Lowden, Grayson, Murkowski and Castle.  In truth, it’s more than a pragmatic rationalization.  The fact is the Old Bulls are more comfortable dealing with establishment type Republicans.  They would rather be in the minority and get the best offices and the best parking spots, and the most prestigious committee appointments, the most earmarks, and all the other perks of being a princely Congressman or Senator than fight for principles.  They are, as Angelo M. Codevilla characterized them in his featured piece in the July/August 2010 issue of The American Spectator, members of “America’s Ruling Class.”  It absolutely infuriates them when they are upended by what they look upon as America’s “Country Class”—that’s you and me.

Just a day after Karl Rove lost control on Hannity’s America, Michelle Malkin appeared on the same show.  She summed up the situation nicely as outrage by the current leadership of the GOP that they are about to be ousted from power.  She characterized it as a “palace revolution.”  While the general election is a revolt against the statist policies of Barack Obama, the defeat of establishment Republican candidates by “Tea Party” conservatives is nearly as big a story.  The Republican Party bosses know their time has come and gone.  The party’s over and come November 2^nd there’s going to be a new sheriff in town, only this sheriff can’t be bought or “co-opted” as suggested by former Senator, now lobbyist, Trent Lott.

That’s why Karl Rove is willing and anxious for conservative Senate candidates like Christine O’Donnell to lose.  Up until the time of Rove’s emotional outburst the polls showed O’Donnell leading her Democrat opponent, Chris Coons, in the general election.  But just a day later, thanks to Karl Rove and attacks by other members of the GOP establishment, the polls have flipped showing her losing her race for US Senate in Delaware. 

Make no mistake about it, liberal Republicans believe in rule or ruin.  At first the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) leaked out word that it would not be providing any funds to Christine O’Donnell (NRSC Chairman Senator Cornyn reversed course the next day, probably due to intense pressure from Texas conservatives).  On the heels of that was the announcement by Mike Castle (who was defeated in the primary by O’Donnell) that he would not support O’Donnell in the general election even though he had pledged to do so if he lost only a few weeks earlier.  Then came the attempted political assassination by Karl Rove. 

But you and I can answer Karl Rove and all the Old Bulls of the GOP by going to Senator Jim DeMint’s Senate Conservatives Fund (www.senateconservatives.com) and lending our financial support to principled conservatives like Christine O’Donnell.  If we all jump on board it won’t take long for Christine O’Donnell to regain the lead in the polls and elect another conservative to the US Senate who can’t be bought.  I’ve already made my gift to help Marco Rubio (Florida), Sharron Angle (Nevada), Rand Paul (Kentucky), Mike Lee (Utah), Ken Buck (Colorado), Joe Miller (Alaska), Ron Johnson (Wisconsin), and Pat Toomey (Pennsylvania) via Jim DeMint’s Senate Conservatives Fund.

I urge you to drop everything right now and click on www.senateconservatives.com  to elect principled conservatives to the US Senate who will fight for principle rather than make a deal.  Please lend your support to these citizen candidates today.