Fresh off days of blithely repeating Republican talking points about how targeting Joe Lieberman means that we're a bunch of far left, dare we say terrorist, radicals, the AP
reports today, without a hint of irony, on the Club for Growth's plan to target Lincoln Chafee.
The Club for Growth and its 36,000 members spent around $1 million to help challenger Tim Walberg unseat first-term Rep. Joe Schwarz in Michigan's Republican primary on Tuesday. The win came despite Schwarz's support from
President Bush and the National Rifle Association.
What, you mean Republicans target moderates to enforce party purity?
AP, how badly thou doth report. For a truly analytical news organization, in reporting on party "purges", might cast a comparative eye over the track record of the Club for Growth:
Since its inception in 1999, the group has spent millions to help dozens of conservative Republicans win seats in Congress -- often at the expense of more moderate party members. The Club's president, former Rep. Pat Toomey (news, bio, voting record), nearly defeated Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record) in 2004.
and other fringe outfits who have in very recent days been accused of running moderates out of their party.
But is the Lamont victory over Lieberman even alluded to in this very neutral article about the activities of the radical Club for Growth?
hint: Find in Page (Lieberman) yields zero results.
Distressed Republican moderates are quoted in the article, fretting that the Club for Growth's actions will lead to Democratic victories in '06.
Sarah Chamberlain Resnick, executive director of the Main Street Republican Partnership, which is backing Chafee, said the Club's efforts will only help Democrats gain more seats in Congress.
"(House Minority Leader) Nancy Pelosi should make sure that Pat Toomey is on her Christmas card list," Resnick said after Schwarz's defeat.
But is the word "terrorist" mentioned? What about Hezbollah or Al-Qaeda?
hint: Find in Page (Hezbollah) and Find in Page (Al Qaeda) yield zero results.
And after many days of horrified pundit hand-wringing about how Democrats have litmus tests for party purity and that is wrong, wrong, wrong, what do we read, presented without a hint of irony or comparative analysis, in this article?
Steve May, a former Arizona lawmaker who served briefly as a Club chapter president before being pushed out, said the organization throws conservative challengers up against moderate incumbents to scare them to the right.
"For the Club for Growth, it's all about the money, but you have to pass the social litmus test," May said.
That's right. Conservative Republicans, hereafter to be referred to as "moonbats", "wackadoos", or "Hezbollah" by the popular press I'm sure, just as liberal Democrats are, have (gasp) litmus tests.
And it's A-OK.