What was that I said two years ago about the danger of pandering to your fringe? Looks like Republicans are the new target of eliminationist right-wing rhetoric:
A Facebook page called “Massachusetts RINO Hunt” is dedicated to “the aggressive and immediate removal of all RINO’s from the Republican Party of Massachusetts.” The page’s logo is a red, white and blue rhinoceros shaped like the GOP elephant in crosshairs.
Comments on the page include one follower saying, “Cocked, Locked and Ready to Rock,” and another spouting, “Locked and Loaded!”
[...]
There is a posting targeting former Gov. Mitt Romney as “the father of socialized health care,” while another poster says “the entire Mass GOP leadership is made up of RINOs,” including Sen. Scott Brown and party chair Jennifer Nassour. Brown and Romney declined to comment. The state GOP also declined comment. (Emphasis mine)
They “decline to comment” out of fear. Who wants to piss off the party base, especially when they’re armed? When four of the 47 GOP Senators showed up for the “Tea Party Caucus,” they heard from Virginia tea party activist Jamie Radtke, who clearly stated her authoritarian leanings:
She said that she shares an understanding with Stewart that conservatives need to unite behind one candidate in order to defeat Allen. However, Marshall has threatened to jump into the Senate race if the Republican candidates do not adequately address abortion among other social topics.
“I am talking about those issues. I’m strongly pro-life and I’m strongly pro-family and pro-marriage and that will not change on the campaign (trail),” said Radtke. “George Allen has some explaining to do on his pro-life position.”
That would be George “Macaca” Allen, who’s been rehabbing his image lately in preparation for a comeback bid against Democrat Jim Webb. It’s part of a national pattern identified by the New York Times:
In Maine, there is already one candidate running on a Tea Party platform against Senator Olympia J. Snowe. Supporters there are seeking others to run, declaring that they, too, will back the person they view as the strongest candidate to avoid splitting their vote. In Utah, the same people who ousted Senator Robert F. Bennett at the state’s Republican convention last spring are now looking at a challenge to Senator Orrin G. Hatch.
The early moves suggest that the pattern of the last elections, in which primaries were more fiercely contested than the general election in several states, may be repeated.
They also show how much the Tea Party has changed the definition of who qualifies as a conservative. (Emphasis mine)
The monster of their creation now turns upon them, destroying all they love. I reiterate: we have seen this movie before.
