Good and Bad of Halter vs. Lincoln in 2010 (Part II)

Good: We can win if we let the left choose the Democrat nominee (and we nominate a non-establishment, real conservative candidate.)

In Part I of this series we explained  how Arkansas Lt. Governor Bill Halter’s entry into the US Senate race could actually benefit the beleaguered incumbent Democrat Blanche Lincoln. Now we’ll explain how conservative Arkansans can best exploit the Democrat primary to guarantee they are really represented in Washington next year.

Already, we’ve heard conservatives in Arkansas say “I’m voting for Lincoln in the Democrat primary, then whoever the Republican nominee is in the general election.” And while it’s easy to understand their concern that the absolute worst possible scenario would be to have the left-wing liberal Halter represent our great state in the Senate, this practice is unlikely to give us the best Republican challenger in November.

The key to conservatives winning this election is to present the best Republican candidate to the electorate.  We say Republican because history tells us no third party candidate can win, and the idea of the conservative Democrat has been proven to be nothing more than a myth over the past 14 months. That best Republican will be one who appeals to voters across the state.  The key will be getting voters across the state to look at, get to know, choose their favorite GOP candidate in this year’s Senate race, and vote for that candidate in the May primary.

In 2004, when Lincoln was last re-elected, only 54,000 Arkansas voters participated in the Republican primary.  Sixty-seven percent of those came from 8 counties.  That means the remaining counties averaged only 268 Republican primary voters each!

Is it any wonder then, when it’s time to cast votes in the general election, those counties tend to select the Democrat candidate in the general election?  In fact, of the eight counties mentioned earlier, Lincoln won three of them in November 2004.

The simple fact is, to win statewide, we need a conservative candidate with statewide appeal.  The question is, how can we nominate such a candidate?

The answer is simple.  We need voters statewide to participate in the GOP primary.

This year we are not at a fork in the road as a nation.  We’ve already passed the fork, and we took the wrong road.  This year we have to turn this ship of state around, go back to the fork, and take the right road.  But it won’t be easy.

To get conservative voters who traditionally vote in the Democrat primary (and vote Democrat in the general election) we must convince them by doing so they can make a difference.  Just a quick glance at Blanche Lincoln’s poll numbers evinces that voters are ready for a change.  Every Republican candidate included in Rasmussen’s polls leads the Senator.

But a closer look shows Arkansas’ conservative voters aren’t just dissatisfied with Lincoln, but Democrats in general.  Since Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter jumped in the race, those same GOP candidates poll even higher against him.  This makes clear Arkansas’ conservative electorate intends to hold the Democrat party responsible for Lincoln’s betrayal in backing President Obama’s Socialist agenda.

So what difference can strong statewide participation in the GOP primary make?  How will it help?

If we can get large numbers statewide voting in the Republican primary this year, our conservative cause will benefit in at least two ways.  We’ll let the left wing nutjobs select the Democrat candidate and we’ll end up with the most conservative nominee who appeals to voters not just in 3 to 8 Arkansas counties, but to voters in 75 counties.

Let the Left Select the Democrat Nominee

One thing we can thank President Obama for is making clear to most Americans just exactly what it means to be a liberal.  And American resistance to the Left’s idea of Change is overwhelming.  We’ve watched conservative Americans rise up over these past 14 months as President Obama nationalized large segments of the financial industry, the auto industry, and now the health care industry.  These grassroots activists, who left their comfort zone and took to the streets, were first ignored then insulted and finally ignored once again by the Democrat leaders in the White House and Congress.  They are mad as Hell!  They’re mad at Obama, Democrats, and liberal ideas in general.

So let the left choose the Democrat to run in November.  They’ll cut their own political throat by nominating Halter.  The Lieutenant Governor is running on everything conservative Arkansans hate.  Don’t vote against Halter in May, vote against him in November if he wins the nomination.

Nominate the RIGHT Republican

How many times have you said, or heard someone say, “What we need to do is send ordinary people to Washington instead of politicians”?

In past election years, ordinary people haven’t had much of a chance to win.  But if ever there was a year when an ordinary everyday Arkansan could win, this is it.  Why?

Because more people are paying attention than ever before.  Even in the earliest stages of the campaign, more Arkansans were drawn to candidates because of all that was happening in DC.  Usually, an unknown ordinary citizen isn’t well known outside his neighborhood or, at best, his town.  And it’s always been difficult for such a person to get his message out because people don’t try to learn about the candidates until just before the election.  By then, TV commercials are out and the guy or gal with the most money wins.

But today is different.  The events unfolding on the national stage drew grassroots conservatives into the process far earlier than ever before.  And several GOP candidates running for Senate and Congress have effectively used the internet to take their message to the people for over a year.  Though some have relied almost entirely on the old way of politicking, several learned a lot from Obama’s 2008 internet strategy.  They built their websites early and developed strong networks of grassroots supporters via Facebook and other social networking sites.

What this all means is that the old way of doing things may not be the key to victory in this primary.  Just ask Hillary Clinton how it worked for her in 2008.

On top of all that, we have to think about who is going to be voting in May.  Midterm elections usually have much lower turnout than in Presidential election years, and the primaries have really low turnouts.  The people who are most likely to vote at these times are those who are most passionate about what’s happening in their town, state, or nation.  Today, what group of voters are most passionate about what’s going on?

One guess?

If you said the Tea Party protesters, you win the prize!  Those folks who’ve been out in the streets, standing at podiums, carrying signs, shouting down elected officials, and calling Washington for the first time in their lives.  They’re mad as Hell and ready to do something about it.  And they’re conservative, and they don’t have the fondest feelings for ANY professional politician–Democrat or Republican.

This year we can send an ordinary person to Washington, if WE choose to.  If that’s what WE want.  If WE decide we’re no longer playing by the rules that gave us decades of non-representing representatives who are now marching us down the road to Socialism.  We have the opportunity.

And, for possibly the first time in history, the Republican primary in Arkansas offers numerous viable candidates to choose from.  We have professional politicians, establishment-backed candidates, and run-of-the-mill-ordinary-Joes in this race. We-the-people of Arkansas have a choice, and we need to choose wisely.

If we let the left-wing-loons of the Democrat party select their nominee, and we get a good strong statewide turnout for the Republican primary, we’ll choose the best candidate. One who can beat Halter or Lincoln in November.

But we need a candidate who appeals to ALL of Arkansas’ conservative electorate. So, if you’re a conservative voter in Arkansas, please vote in the GOP primary. Help choose the best candidate to represent ALL of Arkansas in Washington.

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Tags: Election 2010, Democrats, Health Care, USSA, Socialism, Obamacare, Lincoln, Halter, John Boozman, Jim Holt, Gilbert Baker, Curtis Coleman, Fred Ramey, Colonel Conrad Reynolds, Randy Alexander, Kim Hendren, US Senate, Republicans, Republican Party of Arkansas
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