I spend a little bit of time over at RedState, and I have to report that there is an air of desperation taking over there about the possible outcome tomorrow.
First, understand that they HATE Christie! His embrace of Obama following hurricane Sandy was an apostasy. Some there even believe that Obama won because of that. But more than that, they hate Christie because he is the quintessential, the very definition of, a RINO (Republican In Name Only). He isn't like them, filled with racist bile and Christian homophobia. He gave up the fight against gay marriage in NJ without really trying - or so they now claim.
Second, they really love Cuccinelli. I believe that if we were to describe Cuccinelli in (what to us are) the worst possible ways, that they would embrace every description as true and as badges of honor, even though the candidate himself would try to distance himself from such descriptions. They do not believe, in fact they lament, Cuccinelli's attempts to make himself more appealing to the general electorate. They believe that he is the answer to their prayers: A REAL Christian man with real Christian values in his heart who isn't afraid to try to implement their vision of a Christian utopia. A man who would take away women's rights to abortions. A man who as governor would keep Virginia safe from gay marriages, etc. etc.
Their worst fear for tomorrow is that Cuccinelli will get blown out and Christie will win handily. And the worst of it will be to their own personal thought bubbles. They KNOW that Republican candidates are not presenting themselves as conservative enough. They believe that if Republican candidates would embrace and articulate unequivocally, a full-throated, hyper-ventilated, homophobic, racist, "Christian" version of conservatism, that they would win. In their minds, the majority of the country is conservative just like them. The problem is the 47% that are almost enough to defeat them, but there are still enough conservatives to win if only the candidates would present themselves as REAL CONSERVATIVES.
But they are almost at the end of the ropes that they have created for themselves. Reading between the lines one can feel their doubts. They have to keep telling themselves, and each other, that Conservatism is winning, that there is a conservative future to THEIR country that they are trying to "TAKE" back. Doubt occurs when reality starts to creep into their bubble, and there is nothing like tomorrow's elections to amp up that reality.
They are in a struggle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party and while their rhetoric claims that they are winning (with Ted Cruz leading the fight) their doubt shows that they aren't really sure. They fear that tomorrow will show that the RINO Republican establishment is correct and that the country cannot and will not tolerate full-fledged conservatives any more.
And a Christie win will make it even worse. If both were to lose then the mood of the country could be blamed. With a Christie win, in a LIBERAL northeastern state, that argument is completely obliterated.
And that will bring about an epiphany. They are already restlessly contending that their leadership is trying to eliminate or marginalize their influence and they can see that a Cuccinelli defeat will accelerate that. And they are probably correct. Any attempt by establishment Republicans to be conciliatory toward Democrats or to move the party in a direction that will enhance the Republican position with minorities will be seen as traitorous to the conservative cause. They have thus far been able to derail all such efforts, but tomorrow's election results will likely force the leadership to act against their wishes.
I believe they are ready to bolt. The venom that they have for McConnell and Boehner and McCain etc. exceeds, at times, what they put out against Obama. There are voices of reason within their ranks - that they need to stick with the Republican Party lest we Democrats take over and completely destroy the country. But they have now come to believe that Boehner et. al are in league with the Democratic leadership in a coordinated effort to destroy the country. So what, many of them ask, is the point of sticking with a Republican Party that is no better than the Democratic Party?
So tomorrow's results may be far sweeter than simply getting back the Virginia state executive offices. Leading up to tomorrow's elections, I believe that the internal Republican war has been suppressed to present the best possible front for the elections. Once complete, however, the gloves will be off. Erick Erickson will, I expect, call for significant changes in the Republican leadership, and he will not get it. That in turn, will cause him to ramp up the rhetoric even further.
The greater the defeat of Cuccinelli, the greater will be the demoralization of the idiots at RedState. I'm hoping for 20 points - but we probably won't get that. I'm going to be an avid reader there for the next few weeks. It ought to be delightful.
