Time and time again we see Republican leaders berate conservatives for allegedly taking their football and going home after a loss only to see those very same leaders be the ones who actually do leave the field. It is happening again in Kentucky where the prospect of a Matt Bevin win has so terrified the Republican Establishment, they are fleeing the state so a Democrat can win.
I have been beating the drum for Matt Bevin for a few weeks. I did not want to indict the Republican Governors Association because from numerous people I heard they were just prodding Matt Bevin to spend his own money. But here at the end, it appears certain Republicans in Washington would rather lose Kentucky than see conservatives win. Multiple people close to the RGA and close to the Kentucky GOP tell me the RGA has turned its nose up at Kentucky even though it is widely considered winnable.
This piece from Nathan L. Gonzales at Roll Call is damning. Get a load of this line:
He hasn’t built much of a rapport with sitting governors who could influence the RGA’s involvement in the race. And Bevin continues to struggle with the local GOP establishment after challenging Mitch McConnell in last year’s Senate primary.
Got that? Matt Bevin, the freaking nominee, has not blown smoke up enough Republican butts for them to help him because, woe as me, Bevin dared challenge Mitch McConnell.
On election day last year, when it was obvious McConnell was going to win, I manned up and contributed more than $200.00 to his campaign. Here at RedState, I had spent more than year pushing Matt Bevin as a viable and needed alternative to McConnell, but my side lost and I was willing to support McConnell.
But the Republican leaders think uniting is only something the grassroots have to do.
From Charlie Crist to Arlen Specter to Joe Schwartz to Wayne Gilcrist to Dede Scozzafava to Bob Bennett to Dick Lugar to Mike Castle, etc., etc., etc. it is the Republican establishment and their candidates who take their footballs and run left when they cannot win or get beaten by conservatives.
It is happening in Kentucky again. Republican leaders would rather let the Democrats win than let conservatives win. They would rather a man who refused to defend Christians in Kentucky win than a Christian businessman. They would rather the left than the right.
More from Rollcall:
In the end, Obama’s terrible job approval rating in the state could hand Bevin the governorship in spite of himself. But the president’s unpopularity isn’t exactly an October surprise. It’s been a constant factor for years. A Bevin win wouldn’t be surprising, but calling the race a pure Tossup doesn’t exactly fit the Republican’s challenge in the homestretch