Yes, please Republicans. Put this guy in leadership.
You thought the
Idaho Republian gubernatorial debate was a "thing of beauty"? Wait until you find out what happened over the weekend at their state convention. The
most mild reports call it a "rift." Republicans themselves
call it a "fiasco," a "mess." Here's a
synopsis to get you up to speed.
Idaho’s state Republican Party convention degenerated into a fiasco Saturday after attempts to disqualify up to a third of the delegates attending appeared to be succeeding—and the convention ended up adjourning without electing a chairman, setting a platform or doing any of it scheduled business.
Heh. The tea party faction was in charge of the convention, with Rep. Raul Labrador, the guy who thinks he can be
House Majority Leader, acting as convention chairman. The only thing they managed to officially accomplish was
kicking out all of the Republican delegates from one of the state's larger counties. They were well on their way to booting all the delegates from two other counties—including the state's largest, Ada—when Labrador abruptly called an end to the thing. The blow up has been brewing for a few weeks now, with the "establishment" Republicans—who hold most of the statewide seats—having won most primary races. The libertarian and tea party wings, though, control the party apparatus and aren't willing to let go of it. Hence the bloodbath that was going to end in the unseating of about a fifth of the delegates until Labrador
pulled the plug.
All of this doesn't bode well for what Labrador would bring to the national GOP.
“It’s hard to blame all this on Raul Labrador, but on the other hand, this does not strengthen his credentials for a national leadership position, either,” said BSU professor emeritus Jim Weatherby, a longtime observer of Idaho politics. […]
It […] proved not to be the finest hour for Labrador, whom many looked to as the healer for the fractured party just a day after he announced that he’s running for Majority Leader of the U.S. House; instead, he ended the convention facing jeers and walkouts from his own party members.
The convention even featured a cameo by Sen. Rand Paul, whose major concern was
getting the hell out of town before things got ugly, asking Labrador reassure him: "You guys have all kinds of stuff that'll go on—and I'll be gone by the time that goes forward?" Chickenshit.
So there you go, nation. That's what's in store for the House of Representatives if Labrador and the tea party—that includes the extremist Rep. Steve Scalise who wants to be whip—get any part of House leadership. They not only have no problem eating their own, they relish it.