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The definition of insanity is doing the same failed thing over and over expecting a different result

My candid thoughts on the GOP leadership fight ahead

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  November 6th, 2008 at 09:02 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Here’s where I am on the House and Senate GOP leadership races.

The whole lot of them should be rounded up and hanged.  Slowly.

When you lose two elections in a row, you pull out the ginsu knife and go for seppuku. Honor demands it.

Real leaders know when to get out of the way.  People too comfortable to be effective do not.

That said, I do not want to demand John Boehner resign without someone we think worthwhile to challenge him who is willing to do so.  Same with McConnell1. Frankly, Boehner could not herd the cats this session. Too many of them were retiring and willing to stab him in the back. Nonetheless, honor generally demands you step down after two consecutive electoral defeats unless your name is Bob Michel, in which case we just shove you aside, pretend you don’t exist, and smother you quietly while we take control.

Without someone to stand up and say they’ll fight to be minority leader, I do not want to shout in the wind.  If Boehner is the only guy the caucus can stand behind, so be it. He is, at the end of the day, more one of us than not one of us.

I’m happy for Cantor to step up to whip.

Kevin McCarthy replacing Cantor in Cantor’s present spot would work well.

I’m happy for Pence to replace Putnam, though I’d prefer Hensarling because Pence is terrible at interpersonal relationships with other members due to ego competitions and, frankly, if Pence is the guy the conservatives put up instead of Hensarling, the odds go up dramatically that the moderates will unite around someone else.

I’m happy to find someone to replace McCotter.

Granger stepping down is icing on the cake.

Tom Cole wants to run again for NRCC. We need Pete Sessions there.

But with no one standing up to take out Boehner, I’m not going to demand he step down.  Were he to do so, without a pre-existing single challenger, the House conservatives would, as usual, split between different people and the moderates would, as usual, unite behind someone.  We’d be left eating a s**t sandwich — glad they heeded our call for change and vomiting at the replacement.

P.S.: In the Senate, Thune?!?!  Barack Obama has been on the floor of the Senate more in the past few years than Thune.  He’d need someone to even show him where his desk is.

  1. McConnell is not a great tactician.  He’s not.  Rounding up 60 votes once or twice a year to block a dumb Iraq resolution or moan about judges is not brilliant tactics.  Having a nasty wedge issue as a second degree amendment on EVERY Dem amendment would be great tactics.  Forcing really bad votes is good tactics.  Making Dems vote on bad issues is good tactics.  McConnell does none of that.
    ↩

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COMMENTS

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  • XRenown

    if you failed this bad at any other job you’re replaced… only in government do we tolerate this. our party needs decisive leaders… executive style talent with “cut through the mud” legislative ability…. the problem is just that… a bunch of legislators…

    the other side is that we need to spend the next few years on developing the leadership, yes, but we also need to focus on reaching college kids with brains ripe for molding… teach bold conservative arguments to counter the liberal idiocy…

    i’ve said it in other posts… i’m 26 and cannot believe my entire demographic was largely undertargeted in this election 21 million votes, almost 20%… they tried but it wasn’t nearly hard enough.

    i’m excited… it’s a privilege to be here Erick… how can we organize RedState to target more youth if the party refuses to wake up?

  • youthgrunt

    is that if no one stands up, then they need to be drafted. The title of this post is very accurate. We are better off with new reluctant leadership than with leadership known to produce the same results as the last two elections.

  • TxCon

    I would like Cornyn or Sessions to take over for McConnell. I agree with you on Cantor and Hensarling. Newt started his rise as the Whip, maybe Cantor can do the same.

  • Dave_in_Fla

    Is that expecting our congressional delegation to do anything other than block the really bad legislation coming from Obama is a mistake.

    We need leadership outside of Congress to step in and rebuild the party’s underpinnings and reputation.

    Boehner can stay as minority leader, he just isn’t going to be the Republican leader. We need a REAL leader at the RNC, not a fundraiser/organizer.

  • Mushy_MiddleGuy

    We need ALL new leaders. I’m sorry, when you have your Senate Minority Leader in danger of losing his seat, you have a problem. Here’s the replacements I had in mind:

    SENATE
    Minority Leader: Bob Corker
    Minority Whip: Mel Martinez
    Conference Chair: David Vitter
    Policy Committee Chair: Richard Shelby
    Conference Secretary: John Cornyn
    Campaign Committe Chair: Susan Collins

    HOUSE
    Minority Leader: Cathy McMorris Rodgers
    Minority Whip: Eric Cantor
    Conference Chair: Devin Nunes
    Policy Committee Chair: Pete Sessions

  • mcg

    What’s your beef with McCotter? This is an honest question—I was unfamiliar with him before I saw his rant about the bailout on YouTube.

  • Whacker77

    As a Kentuckian, I like Mitch and thought he did a good as a job as possible during the last term. It was always going to be tough to herd the masses when Bush was so unpopular. Still, he’s not the best advocate. I wouldn’t mind seeing Mitch remain the tactical leader while hiring Thune to deliver the message.

    As for the House, I think we should call for Boehner to step down. We’ve lost more than 50 seats under his leadership. He was also a terrible leader when it came to deliver the message. What was his media strategy? I know I don’t know.

    I really like Mike Pence so I’m happy he’s running for a leadership post. Still, he’s not enough on his own. We need Jeb Hensarling and Paul Ryan in the leadership as well. Could these three do any worse than Boehner, Blunt, and Punam did.

    Paul Ryan – Leader
    Eric Cantor – Whip

  • bk

    We need some folks who can figure out how to run a campaign and figure out numbers. How did we piss away so much resources in PA and lose it by double digits? Of the 8 states with >15 electoral votes, Obama won 7 of them and all but Ohio and Florida were by double digits.

  • TxCon

    should not be anywhere near a leadership position. He will have enough trouble holding his seat in two years. That is where his focus needs to be.

  • TomP46

    Erick…I couldn’t agree with you more…

    and ya know what fellow citizen…The definition of insanity is doing the same failed thing over and over expecting a different result…

    describes the whole insane bunch of democrats and republicans akNa neocons for the past forty years to a “T”!!!!

  • James_Reynolds

    not only entails pushing our platform, but taking responsibility and recognizing what went wrong. I would love to see Newt take over at the RNC. I think Boehner has learned his lesson to not sit idley back from the bailout fiasco and finished strongly. Newt and Boehner at the end had a good working relationship that could be beneficial.

    We need leaders strong enough to inject themselves into a negotiation even when not invited. This may mean taking the fight directly to the people in more press conferences.We lost because we became complacent. Our leaders failed to help create legislation and listened to the whitehouse for barking orders. True leaders help forge legislation that comes from the whitehouse while thier party is in control of the presidency, then come out united in a direction best for the country. When leaders do not step up to the plate and let them be told how to handle it only one idea comes to the surface instead a brainstorm of ideas where the best comes to the top.

  • red_oakster

    It’s called the Appropriations Committee. Unless the GOP establishes rules now for reform of appropriations to take effect the day they resume control of the House, the rest is worthless.

    That committee needs to have 6 year or even better 4 year term limits on its members and it needs to have non-defense spending increases and earmarks subject to an outside approval (Rules Committee, Steering Committee?) before they can be marked up.

    If you don’t change the rules, the GOP always will lose to the Appropriators. And all the leadership musical chairs in the world won’t make a difference-because they won’t have the power to override the spending.

  • Raven

    Either we want to dispose of them quickly, in which case we axe them ourselves, or we want it to excruciatingly painful for them and hand them an exacto knife and let it take another election.

    I’m for the axe. Maybe even a guillotine. Or Highlander style. The faster the better.

  • Dukeboy01

    What’s the over/ under on how long the 111th Congress will be in session before McCain goes all Mavericky and stabs us in the back?

    I’ll take 3 months.

  • youthgrunt

    I didn’t realize that NeoCons had been around for 40 years.

  • youthgrunt

    .

  • eburke

    The guy who helped lead the way on the amnesty debacle? Yeah, that’s a great way to ignite the base and champion our differences with the Dems.

    And I wouldn’t put Vitter into a leadership position as well. If we haven’t learned by now, the MSM has a double standard which is incalculable. Vitter’s personal troubles are just too much low hanging fruit and would make the whole ‘we’re not the party of Washington politicians and sleaze bags” that much harder to make. Is that fair to Vitter considering that the party of Frank/Jefferson/Dodd/Obama et al get by with the sleaziest, slimiest of associations. Of course not. But there’s the world the way you like it and the world the way it is. The MSM will spare no effort in trying to vilify whoever the GOP puts up. No need making life easy for them.

  • NightTwister

    I don’t really want to see that train wreck again.

    Liberals and squishes shouldn’t be anywhere near the leadership positions, or we’ll just keep playing this same video over and over again.

  • conservative_right21

    however, there is one thing, and only ONE thing, we need to learn from the Dems. We need to stick together. GOP in the House and Senate are always trying to get on everyone?s “good side”. They stupidly think “if I do this for them they’ll help me” (cough cough McCain). WRONG! Dems NEVER EVER do anything to help the GOP unless it will make them look good. They’d rather humiliate the GOP. Look at Bush 41. He said no new taxes, the Dems convinced him to raise taxes as “bipartisan” and than used it against him, over and over again.
    We need leadership in Congress who will be able to have the GOP unite behind them, not divide them. Now isn’t the time for party bickering and finger pointing (although I point many at McCain), and we need to stand together to fight against Obama/Pelosi/Reid policies. We need leaders who will unite the party, especially in the Senate to block Obama’s judges and tax increases.

  • ZombieReagan

    Awesome. Brilliant strategy, Sun Tzu.

  • Moe_Lane

    Good. Zip up your pants and scram.

  • tempest

    Rush stated he was going to start putting out some of his ideas today about how to reorganize around conservative principles and getting the message out.

    He also said he was going to name names of those elite-inside-the-beltway types that are destroying the Republican party. Not sure if he will start naming names today, but can’t wait for the cleansing process to start!!

  • Maggie_in_Indiana

    but I think you underestimate Pence’s influence and national recognition as well. We are going to hear his name more in conservative circles than even before.

    I think the more stark the differences in the parties the better. Far left loons and conservatives need to rumble.

  • Mushy_MiddleGuy

    So you want to alienate a whole chunk of the party? That will only prolong the crisis that is the current state of the GOP. We didn’t lose becasue of our policies, we lost becasue we got out maneuvered by the Obama machine.

    The smart thing is to get the most conservative members in the upper leadership positions, and the moderates in the lower positions. Susan Collins would make a great Campaign Committee Chair because she has broad appeal and would probably be a great fundraiser. Of course, if Sarah Palin ends up in the Senate, that wouldn’t be a bad spot for her either.

  • eburke

    smart. But having those whose positions are often indistinguisable from those with whom we’re doing battle isn’t an effective way of painting ideological differences (cf. ’06 & ’08 election results)

    I’m all for understanding that Susan Collins can’t win with the same message as James Inhofe. But the Dems have this figured out. They’re OK with Tim Walz (D-MN 1, my CD) have an A rating from the NRA because he’s with them on every other left wing vote. Hunting is big here in Southern MN so they let him wander off the lefty plantation on that. But they don’t let his gun policy become their gun policy and they expect him to support them on the ‘big’ issues which is why he got an F from the National Taxpayers Union.

    Our problem is that we let the ‘squishes’ define our party’s stances, which, by definition, is no definition at all.

  • johninca

    …and if that won’t unite us, I don’t know what will. I’m not even a Republican and I feel united with you.

    Look, it started in 1980 when Reagan put Bush on the ticket. That’s when we got saddled with this dynasty of incompetent, semi-articulate buffoons.

    No more Bush. No more Skull and Bones. No more Illuminist secret societies. No more Big Government conservatives.

  • shawng

    …he deserves another shot after this debacle? Please no; nearly selling out Bachmann? No, he can go on a slide to oblivion NOW.

    Honor demands both the leaders go bye-bye. Period. Cantor as Whip is perfect for now. And all I ‘will’ say is if he moderates try for picking a candidate, the conservatives should make sure that guy goes down in flames “regardless” of how unpalatable the conservative choice might otherwise be. We ‘need’ ideological contrasts more than anything right now. If they seem a bit prickly…well all the better. After all, the left isn’t supposed to need us to govern. No reason for us to help them do it.

  • Spartan4Life

    Let’s face it. Our Senate Republicans are all that stand between the American people and the radical Obamalosi agenda. That is a scary thought when you think about the past transgressions of McCain, Snowe, etc. and other mushy Republicans. So, we need someone to lead who has these qualities:

    1. Smart- Understand policy and be able to decide which legislation to take a stand on, as well as, day to day tactics to further our agenda and prospects.

    2. Leadership- Must be able to herd cats that don’t want to be herded. We will need all 42-44 votes on a number of occasions.

    3. Tough- Be able to handle the inevitable attacks from Shumer, Durbin, Boxer et al.

    4. Articulate- Be able to take the case to the American people when the inevitable press cries of obstruction materialize.

    We got anybody like that?

  • Herodotus

    I would prefer DeMint

  • Herodotus

    .

  • Herodotus

    alot in earily 1960 to describe ex-marxists turned conservatives.

  • janis

    I’m a Tennesseean and don’t trust the guy. He’s a squish and was all over the place defending that stupid “Gang of 10″ energy plan back in the summer that stabbed us in the back while our own guys were making progress in the House. And you want to reward that kind of behavior with more power?

    Your name says it all.

  • Kate_Shanahan

    New leadership in the House and Senate will not fix the whole problem. The Reagan Democrats and college students were the difference in this election.

    Until we have a message, and understand how desperately people want compromise on some issues, we are doomed to keep losing.

    All those people with great family values, who attend church and pay their taxes and work hard and voted for Obama can tell you why you we lost this election. I know bunches of them, and I was shocked that they went for Obama.

    This was the only way to get our attention.

  • James_Reynolds

    is something our party lacks to be quite honest. Our leaders serve their terms then go into lobbying or business with their new contacts. I would love to see many of our conservative leaders forget about massive wealth or political influence at the national level or at think tanks and go be a professor, help teach young politicians the art of policy making, or help out locally in finding new aspiring leaders that just need a little mentoring. Liberals have found out how beneficial this is and has done it for years and if we were honest with ourselves, we would say they are doing a pretty good job at convincing each younger generation of their ideals. We need strong commitment to our students to teach them obtaining their dreams through hard work is where personal satisfaction comes from not from a hand-out, we need to teach them that capitalism helps spark innovation and when government takes control it goes down hill( education system), and that personal liberties help keep us truly free and that they shouldn’t be taken advantage of or given away out of fear.

  • waitasec

    Ronald Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment, “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican?” Y’all are at each others’ throats.

  • XRenown

    give me paleocons or i’ll give the party death!

  • mbecker908

    Hey NewDude™, if pull your head out of your nether regions you got a better shot at smelling the roses.

    1. NewTone™, the number one cause of our current situation has to be done away with NOW.
    2. We need leadership that understands that Democrats are NOT just good, patriotic Americans who view the role of government a little differently. (Thank you GWB)
    3. To paraphrase Harry Truman, why should voters vote for a part time Democrat when they can get a full time Democrat. Bottom line, the Republican Party needs to get back to the foundation that government must be downsized, programs and departments need to be eliminated not controlled. The number of non-defense government employees should be cut by at least 25%.
    4. There should be no place in the leadership of the party for people like Mel Martinez. Or Liddy Dole, or Tom Cole, or a laundry list of the folks who brought us here.
    5. All vestiges of “Compassionate Conservatism” need to be tarred, feathered and ridden out of town on a rail.
    6. The GOP needs to adopt a short, simple list of priorities that clearly explains what we stand for. See Contract With America. EVERY CongressCritter and Senator needs to sign on or lose their committee seniority.
    7. The idiots who run the NRSC and NRHC need to be shot (See Mel Martinez & Tom Cole). They need to be replaced by full time people who will approach the job just like Gen. Petraeus approached Baghdad. The fund raising function needs to be separated away from the actual running of the organization. The top priority for the leaders should be recruitment of new candidates in EVERY Congressional District and people who will work full time with the various state & local committees to find and groom new people.
    8. Anybody who says things like “bipartisanship” or “working with the Democrats for the good of the country” should be buried alive in an ant hill. And somebody should be specifically charged with the job of making sure GWB is not seen or heard from in the next ten years.
    9. The Party needs to hire some media advisers who recognize and understand that a-the media is not our friend and will never be friendly; b-we MUST have a talking point memo on at least a weekly basis that is adhered to by every Republican on major points; c-the “new media” will be helpful in organizing the base; d-the “old media” can be counted on only to obfuscate and lie about positions and front openly for BO; and will develop a media plan to be consistent on major issues and constantly in the “old media’s” face in a confrontational way.
    10. The term “moderate” should now be a “bad word” (see 3).

    Bottom line, Ronald Reagan didn’t win by “appealing to moderates”, that’s a lie that keeps getting repeated but it will never be true. Reagan won because Reagan pushed specific conservative values across the board on issues. He made his positions broad, but narrow enough to be applied to specifics. He made his positions simple and easy to understand. Example: the solution isn’t more government, the problem IS government; “Mr. President how do you see the Cold War?” Ans: “We win.” Reagan could be counted on. Our current crop of moderates can only be counted on to act like Democrats when the rubber meets the road.

    So, you want to be alienated, have at it. You’ve (moderates) had your shot in both Bush Administrations and your policies and approach have failed miserably. You can go now. Vote Republican or not, I could care less, you qualify as “fair weather friends” just like Ron Paul (who can also go waste away in the desert). Now is the time to get back to basics and the Christie Todd Whitman crowd needs to have absolutely no say. A simple, consistent, conservative message will win. Moderation will give us another 40 years in the wilderness doing nothing more than trying (and failing) to block liberal initiatives.

  • itrytobenice

    Amen Becker. This could be a diary.