Great: Former Republican Senators Endorsing Democrat Senate Candidates

The argument went like this:

Tea Party: You guys are essentially Democrats. There is no ideological difference between you and the statist progressives; your idea of "political battle" is simply to see which team wins in any election, to divvy up the choicest offices and biggest staff budgets. And not to actually challenge the assumptions of the progressive social welfare/social control state.

Establishment Republicans: Nonsense, we're committed to all that... stuff you're so rabidly frothing about. You're just "extremists." You're crazypeople.

So, who was right?

Well, the Tea Party was.

With control of the U.S. Senate up for grabs this November, a single seat may determine who has the majority. That’s why Republicans should find it disconcerting that two of their establishment lions have broken ranks and are backing Democratic candidates in competitive races.

The latest apostate is former senator John Warner of Virginia, who announced this week he is backing incumbent Democratic senator Mark Warner for reelection. He is thus giving the back of his hand to former RNC chairman Ed Gillespie, a former George W. Bush adviser, who has a decent shot at winning and is no wild-eyed radical. Last year, Warner also endorsed the Georgia candidacy of Michelle Nunn, a Democrat, who is the daughter of former senator Sam Nunn, with whom Warner served in the Senate. He even attended a fundraiser on her behalf. Georgia Republicans who find themselves defending an open Senate seat in Georgia are furious since the Warner support allows Nunn to position herself as a bipartisan moderate.

posted by Ace at 05:17 PM

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