It’s Not Personal, Mac. It’s Strictly Business

by digby

Following up on dday’s post below, can I also say how much fun it is to watch the conservatives have a hissy fit over their own, even if it’s at least a little bit kabuki? It’s not just McCain, you know. This public “dissatisfaction” between the Republican establishment and the conservative movement has been evident for a while. Remember this?

The Republican whip, Trent Lott of Mississippi, who supports the bill, said: “Talk radio is running America. We have to deal with that problem.”

(I have a sneaking suspicion that they are about to find out who’s boss if this gets out of hand.)

Meanwhile, Rush is treating Bob Dole like he’s a senile old fool (or a woman who wants an abortion.) He doesn’t know what he’s doing, you see. He’s being manipulated.

In fact, it’s interesting that Dole come into this. It was in 1996 that the conservative movement showed it could play the long game. They knew they were going to lose. Clinton, by that time, was popular again and had trumped Newties government shutdown gambit. They knew they were going to lose and set themselves up for 2000.

Here’s what they did, per Adele Stan who covered that race:

Pat Buchanan in 1996 … won control of the party platform by threatening to take his merry band of delegates out of the G.O.P. (That platform, written by Phyllis Schlafly, was an albatross hung around the neck of the nominee, Bob Dole — a signal to the 2000 nominee to play ball with the right.)

At the press conference that followed Huckabee’s speech, I asked Huckabee if his remarks indicated a willingness to march his delegates out of the G.O.P. “You know, there may come a time, if the Republican Party decides that it’s going to change its platform where it no longer respects human life and no longer really holds to the concept of traditional marriage, you know, [that] I might not find myself at home in the G.O.P., but I don’t personally feel that my goal in life is to lead a revolution out of the Republican Party,” he replied. “My goal is to help the Republican Party to stay true to what’s made it a strong, stable and victorious party. We win elections when we stick to our stuff. We lose elections when we slip off and get squishy.” So, it’s not his goal to lead a revolution. That doesn’t mean it can’t happen, right? And it’s not Dobson’s intention to launch a third party, but if an “appropriate” candidate just happened to turn up on a “minor party” ticket, Dobson just might have to vote for him, capice? Now, let’s have a little talk about that platform

They’ll make ’em an offer they can’t refuse….

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