Conservative Republicans Fight Back
For 2 weeks, Republican leaders have been blaming their election defeat on lack of party unity and onMitt Romney’s gaffes. Now conservatives are starting tochafe
at these explanations. They say the problem is that Republicans lost in 2008 and 2012 to someone they consider
extremely weak because their candidates were not full-throated conservatives. A lot of these people don’t want
the candidate to waste time opposing gay marriage. They want the candidate to openly quote
Leviticus 18:22
“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.”
These people point out that real conservatives, such as Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Sen.-elect Ted Cruz (R-TX),
have won. What they fail to point out is that they won in states where any Republican can beat any Democrat.
In purple states, like Colorado, Nevada, and Missouri, conservative Senate candidates who won primaries
in 2010 or 2012 were roundly trounced in the general election.
In 2012 in Indiana, a red state, a conservative Senate candidate was defeated for trying to defend a ban on
all abortions, including for pregnancies resulting from rape.
That was not a slip of the tongue. It is
enshrined
in the 2012 Republican platform, forcing candidates to defend it.