Bunning will be 77 and has raised no money.
Grayson can hold this seat for the next 30 years.

We need new leadership. Top to bottom in the Senate.

Reasonable people can debate whether he should run or not… But what galls me is the way he’s been treated by the very “club” who sticks by EVERYBODY else… be they liberal like Specter or Chafee, or a corrupt, Party-destroyer like Ted Stevens.

I think Bunning deserves the support not only because he is right ideologically, but also because he was respectful enough of the party as a coalition to be out campaigning in support of McConnell even though they disagree on some ideological dogma.

If McConnell and the NRSC hang Bunning out to dry, especially while having no solid replacement, it will only cause more strife between conservatives and moderates.

At least that is how I see it.

If you’re looking for a guaranteed conservative vote, in the form of someone who will probably be a thorn in the side of McConnell and other “go along to get along” Senate Republicans, Bunning is your guy.

OTOH, if you want someone who can actually publicly *transmit* the conservative message with an appealing public manner, someone who’s not going to easily fall into the ready-made traps by the DNC-inspired “media, then Bunning is getting close to disaster territory.

Frankly, what I wish, is that we could get someone who could do *both* things – be a reliable conservative vote and thorn-in-the-side to McConnell, while still coming off great (and not making bonehead mistakes) in ‘media’ situations.

Unfortunately, I haven’t really heard of any Kentucky Republican fitting that bill.

But Bunning only fills the first half of the bill, so basically he’s “problematic”.

I don’t want to give McConnell a “win” here. But neither do I want Bunning around being forced to issue public mea culpa after public mea culpa.

Lincoln Chafee in the primary of 2006 beat Stephen Laffey, a very principled conservative, who lost by only 6% to Chafee. In the general, people wanted the real democrat, and Chafee lost by 8%. Laffey was supported by the Club for Growth. The turnout in that Republican primary was the largest in RI history, indicating a groundswell of support for Laffey. But no matter, the Washington elite wanted Chafee.

And don’t forget Rick Santorum, who lost in 2006 after making some controversial statements. But he really lost in 2004 when he supported Specter, along with the establishment, over another principled conservative, Pat Toomey. Santorum was a very articulate spokesman for the party, and he made the conservative case very effectively.

So given the recent track record of the Republican establishment, if I were them I would tread very lightly before throwing a good Republican under the bus.

They call it tough love. I call it bs.