Trouble is Brewing for the GOP

Paladino (left) with Newt Gingrich in Buffalo, NY

The rumblings of discontent are getting louder among conservatives. Former New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino made waves yesterday by criticizing the GOP establishment saying, “Are you still mad as hell? You’re fed up and you’re not going to take it anymore?”  His words were met with loud cheers as he introduced Newt Gingrich in Buffalo, NY.  Paladino also had particularly pointed criticisms for Mitt Romney in an interview with MSNBC's Martin Bashir. Paladino sharply criticized Romney's decision to forego campaign appearances in New York and claimed his collusion with conservative media was tantamount to 'buying the election.' Mr. Paladino knows something that the establishment is not telling us: the conservative base of the GOP is furious with the GOP establishment. The media has ignored Newt Gingrich since Santorum's exit from the race, but Newt's ardent supporters continue to fight on. The Adelson's have recently contributed an additional $5 million dollars to Newt's Super-PAC, and yesterday Hans Reigle, Chairman of the Kent County Republican (and former Romney backer) switched his support to Newt Gingrich. The odds may be long, but Newt doesn't appear interested in backing down in his fight against the GOP establishment and their 'presumptive' nominee; cries from those supporting Newt are growing louder each day: "Run, Newt, Run!"

      

The ground-game for the Gingrich campaign in Delaware is showing signs of life as grassroots supporters from around the nation descend on the state to spread the word to Delaware voters that Newt is still in this race, contrary to reports in the mainstream media.  Call centers have sprung up and donations are pouring in to Newt's website. 

Newt Speaks at the 2012 New York Annual Dinner

The GOP establishment had assumed (wrongly) that once Romney had secured enough delegates to block the other contenders from reaching the 1144 threshold, that the others would concede and fall in line behind the front-runner, because this is precisely what has happened in nearly every election cycle in the past  50 years (Reagan-Ford in 1976 being the only exception). What makes this race different? It is a combination of increased voter awareness of the corrupt collusion by the RNC with mainstream media, the lack of authenticity of Mitt Romney, and the belief that electing Romney will deal a deadly blow to the influence of the conservative base of the GOP. Many conservatives are simply unwilling to participate in the destruction of the conservative movement by getting behind a man they believe will continue the big-government policies of the old GOP guard or will lose to Obama in November.

The GOP establishment's ignoring of reservations about Romney poses a real problem for Republican chances in November. The people being alienated by the elite are the very people they will need in November to get-out-the-vote to beat President Obama. Most of the work being done at the grassroots level in the GOP is spearheaded by those who resent Romney and the GOP party bosses most. Pretending these people don't exist will backfire for the GOP. Not only will the race for the Presidency be affected, but  GOP chances in House and Senate races may also suffer if these conservative party members choose not to campaign for the GOP. It is time for the establishment to recognize they may not have made the wisest choice in coronating Romney early-on. The GOP party elite may be presiding over the dismantling of their party.