As predicted, it looks as though yesterday’s Republican Convention in East Lansing did not go smoothly, as Rick Snyder, the Republican candidate for Governor, was confronted head-on by the fact that his party is largely one of misdirected anger and insanity. Here, with more, is a clip from the Detroit Free Press:
In a raucous, record-setting eight-hour session, tea party boosters showed their muscle at the state Republican Party convention, barely ratifying gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder’s choice for lieutenant governor, Brian Calley, and forcing showdowns in fights for attorney general and secretary of state.
In what’s supposed to be a big Republican year, it was clear Republicans have a tiger by the tail with the tea party.
The unexpected race for lieutenant governor, customarily the sole discretion of the nominee for governor, provided the loudest fireworks….
Snyder did his best to ignore the discord, telling delegates: “It’s time to unite, to come together.” He was the moderate among five Republicans running for governor, making his victory a bitter pill for some conservatives.
He was attending his first convention and looked less than comfortable in an arena of partisans. That was especially true after a rump faction of them tried to derail his choice of running mate.
In a move that caught party leaders by surprise, a Holland area businessman, Bill Cooper, who recently finished fourth in a congressional race in west Michigan, challenged Calley’s selection (the lieutenant governor is selected formally at the convention, but always before was at the discretion of the nominee).
Because it wasn’t anticipated, the party didn’t have ballots for a vote, which touched off a chorus of catcalls that subsided only when Cooper conceded and asked his supporters to back Calley and Snyder…
So, the lunatic fringe showed up, and, not really understanding how things work, nominated their own candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Fortunately, though, after a few hours they were wrestled back into their tri-cornered hats and straight jackets. Hopefully that’s the last time Rick, whom I actually like, is going to have to face off against these folks en masse, but you never know. This could just be the opening salvo in a battle that will rage from now until November.
I feel bad for Rick, who strikes me as a thoughtful guy that probably would have been better suited for a run back in the days when the Republican party was defined more by ideas than by fear, but that hasn’t been the case in a long time. The days of Eisenhower, sadly, are long behind us.
Here, for those of you who are interested, is video from the floor of the convention:
5 Comments
I can’t imagine being locked up in the same room with these people for eight hours. I commend him, if nothing else, for his patience. I’ll be voting for his opponent though.
It’s tough to find good information on Rick Snyder and his background. However, even Republican critics seem to suggest that he made his fortune primarily from outsourcing jobs and manufacturing work. Maybe we shouldn’t feel so bad that he’s getting a hard time from somebody. Even if it’s the lamebrained tea baggers. I hope Dems and independent voters give him some critical evaluation before the election.
The racist fever is even hitting Japan and they are using they same tired denials:
“Mr. Sakurai says the group is not racist, and rejected the comparison with neo-Nazis. Instead, he said he had modeled his group after another overseas political movement, the Tea Party in the United States. He said he had studied videos of Tea Party protests, and shared with the Tea Party an angry sense that his nation had gone in the wrong direction because it had fallen into the hands of leftist politicians, liberal media as well as foreigners. ”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/world/asia/29japan.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=general&src=me
If Snyder loses this, it’s going to be the fault of the tea party. The only thing that can stop him at this point is the splintering of his tenuous Republican support. I don’t see it happening though. I think he can hold it together, and I don’t believe the tea partiers would sit the election out or vote for Virg. It would be weird, though, if the whole thing blew up and the nuts ran a third, much angrier candidate as a write-in or something. We can hope though.
Well, the teabaggers can always vote for US Taxpayers Party (nationally the Constitution Party) nominee Stacey Mathia.