The Far Right is getting a head start on its biennial feet-shooting competition.
All this talk about Republicans embracing diversity, demographics, and compromise must have really gotten to the Far Right because already it’s working to undermine two 2014 Senate seats it should have no trouble defending and a third it should have some chance at turning.
The two seats belong to Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Lindsey Graham. Both veer between their bipartisan and partisan (here and here, respectively) bona fides. But both also have safe seats. Safe from Democrats, that is, far-right ideologues are another matter. Chambliss likely will face a primary challenge, possibly from one of the most popular conservative bloggers in the country. Graham, meanwhile, was being targeted when Republicans were still confident of a President Mitt Romney.
And then there’s West Virginia, where Democrat Sen. Jay Rockefeller is up for re-election. The state has a Democratic legislature, governor and two Senators. However, it hasn’t voted blue since Bill Clinton in 1996, and a recent poll has Rockefeller in a close race with the GOP House member who just declared her candidacy.
You’d think Republicans would be happy with a female Senator snagging the first Republican West Virginia senate seat since the mid-1950s. Yet conservatives like the Club for Growth are saying “No” to Rep. Shelley Moore Capito. The reason? She doesn’t have a 100% perfect voting record for their tastes. For some conservatives that’s not a problem. For the ones with cash to spread around during election, it is. Of course, it’s early and anything could happen. But that’s the point: Winners tend to start early.
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