Did the Establishment GOP Die Last Night?

Debbie and I received this letter from Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks, last night. In it, Kibbe outlines the outrageous behavior of the GOP establishment.

Dick and Debbie,

Did the establishment GOP die last night? I think so.

Let me explain: by now you have already read about the craven tactics employed by self-described “Republican” voices like the NRSC, Haley Barbour, Mitch McConnell, John McCain, and the Chamber of Commerce. They all supported and funded Senator Thad Cochran’s campaign to mobilize democrats to the polls in his runoff against FreedomWorks endorsee Chris McDaniel in Mississippi.

It worked. The 41-year incumbent would not have won last night without a huge turnout of liberal democrats. In truth, Cochran finally showed his true stripes, abandoning Republican principles to run on his support for unlimited pork-barrel spending, insider deals, and even race-baiting against the good men and women of the tea party.

It was despicable.

I expect these tactics from the Obama Machine, but this is a new low for the Republican establishment. But they would not have won otherwise, and the power and money of permanent incumbency is too lucrative to surrender to the greater good of the nation and the principles of fiscal responsibility. I am reminded of when establishment-endorsed candidates like Arlen Specter, Charlie Christ, Lisa Murkowski, and Dick Lugar all abandoned the GOP when the grassroots sought to replace them.

If you have given money to any of these “Republican” entities, you have unwittingly funded the turnout of Democratic votes in a Republican primary. I bet you’re just as angry as I am about that. In the case of the NRSC, we are talking about millions of dollars that could have been spent defeating Harry Reid and vulnerable Senate Democrats.

Now you know what I mean when I say that we have to beat the Republicans before we can beat the Democrats this November.

I was in Hattiesburg, Mississippi last night, and I can tell you that there is only resolve among the grassroots. No one is letting up, and we still hope to save what is rightly Chris McDaniel’s seat. It is clear that thousands of Democrats voted who were ineligible according to state election law. We are exploring all options.

In the meantime, send the NRSC a message by defunding the establishment GOP zombies. Fund FreedomWorks instead. The establishment is intellectually bankrupt, and we are going to have to clean it up.

Make no mistake, Thad Cochran ran like a Democrat and won with the votes of Democrats. If the only way the K Street wing of the GOP can win is by courting Democrats to vote in GOP primaries, then we’ve already won.

In Liberty,

Matt
—
Matt Kibbe
President and CEO
FreedomWorks