Republican establishment got their candidates and they are in trouble

Laura Ingraham:

Now the concerned whispers are becoming audible groans. Turns out after premature high-fiving in certain Republican circles, the GOP just may be on the verge of blowing its opportunity to take control of the U.S. Senate in November. A few of us have been warning for months that unless the GOP responded smartly to the huge public outcry over the border surge, it would miss a chance to energize disaffected voters. We also urged our friends in the establishment that they shouldn’t take their primary victories against more-conservative candidates as a sign that they could “play it safe” during the campaign.

The public wants policies to strengthen the American workforce, raise its standard of living, and renew and protect the homeland. It wants to see an affirmative agenda to spur growth and economic opportunity—one that goes beyond “dump Obamacare.” But the voters are enduring uninspiring candidates, boring political ads, and wishy-washy campaign statements on immigration enforcement. One of the only Senate campaigns playing the immigration issue correctly is that of moderate Scott Brown in New Hampshire. And guess what? After trailing Jean Shaheen for months, he is now in a dead-heat race with the pro-amnesty Democrat incumbent. Go figure.

Then there’s the issue of money. Writing in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal, establishment fave Karl Rove says the GOP Senate majority is “still in doubt,” noting that the GOP Senate candidates are being outspent $109 million to $85 million in media buys. He urges Republicans to “open their wallets to candidates whom they have never met.” Here’s what I say to this entreaty: How much money did the establishment spend to save Thad Cochran? How much did they spend to try to save Eric Cantor? How much did they spend to save Lamar Alexander, and Lindsey Graham, and all the other incumbents who they defended earlier this year?None of those dollars were spent to fight the Democrats — they were all used to beat and in many cases malign the Tea Party.
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Democrats are trying to salvage their mess with stealth candidates who say they are not Democrats but will vote for Harry Reid for speaker anyway.  Anyone who says he is an independent in those circumstances should not be trusted with a vote in the Senate, but in Kansas they may get it because the establishment backed an unpopular incumbent rather than a Tea Party favorite.   They may yet pull it out if they can tie the independent to Reid.  I am one of those Republicans who primarily votes against Democrats.  Every election is an opportunity to do so even if I don't like the Repbulican all that much.  In Kansas the smart play is to run against Reid.