Wednesday, October 05, 2005

An Open Letter to the NRSC Regarding its Opposition to Stephen Laffey's Senate Candidacy

Ladies and Gentlemen:

When the NRSC openly opposed conservative Republican Pat Toomey in the 2004 Pennsylvania Senate primary, I vowed not to contribute to the NRSC ever again. However, upon receipt of a plea from NRSC Chairman Elizabeth Dole, I decided to give the NRSC another chance. And how were I and other conservatives repaid for our loyalty and faith? By being betrayed once again.

The NRSC is now running ads against Mayor Stephen Laffey, the moderate-to-conservative Republican who is running for the Senate in Rhode Island. It seems to me that the NRSC decided to attack Laffey because he had the audacity to run in a Republican primary against ultraliberal "Republican in Name Only" Lincoln Chafee, whose only redeeming quality is that he counts as a Republican for purposes of who is the Majority Leader but who has routinely promised to switch to the Democrats in case the GOP is ever down to 50 or 51 Senators. A traitor such as Senator Chafee should be expelled from our party (which would result in a net gain of 2 real Republicans on each Senate committee and sub-committee on which he sits), not subsidized in a primary race against a real Republican.

Is the NRSC so intolerant of non-liberals that it will resort to sullying the reputation of a Senate candidate in Stephen Laffey whose record and positions are no more conservative than those of Rhode Island Governor Don Carcieri? The only question remaining is whether this decision was made by the NRSC as an institution or only by its Chairman, Senator Elizabeth Dole. It is hard to envision Senator Norm Coleman ever acting in such a repugnant way, and I'm sure that several Republican Senators are kicking themselves for having selected Dole over Coleman as NRSC Chairman.

Republican primary voters, not the party bosses, should decide who will be the Republican Senate nominee in Rhode Island. The despicable actions by the NRSC to attack Mayor Laffey and do Lincoln Chafee's dirty work should cease immediately, or my money and support will go elsewhere---Mayor Laffey's campaign is now first on my list. And while I'm just one guy with not much money to give, there are millions of conservatives like me around the nation who are fed up with our money being used to attack conservative candidates.

I would recommend that you rectify the situation by ceasing the attack ads against Stephen Laffey immediately and by staying neutral in the remainder of the primary campaign. And, in the future, the NRSC should refrain from picking sides in Republican primaries so as to avoid hurting the party and its members. While it will take a long time for me to forgive the NRSC, you can avoid driving away additional conservatives if you act more responsibly in the future.

Very truly yours,

A Disgusted NRSC Contributing Member

No comments: