Viguerie: Republican Leaders Must Go

The article below mentions the May 13 special election in Mississippi's U. S. House District One, which the Republicans lost. It's worth noting that, prior to that seat being won by the Republican Roger Wicker in 1994, it was held by Democrats at least since the late 1800s. The Democrat Jamie Whitten held it from 1941 through 1994 (of course, the boundaries were not the same all those years. When Mississippi lost a House seat following the 1960 census, e.g., Whitten and Rep. Frank Smith of Greenwood were placed in the same district. Whitten defeated Smith in 1962. President John Kennedy then named Smith to the Tennessee Valley Authority).

Viguerie's outlook reminds me of a famous speech in the British House of Commons. A member railed at his party's leader, the prime minister, "In the name of God, sir-- GO!"

Quick... can you name the current Republican national chairman?

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From Newsmax.com:

The Republican Party must replace its leadership or conservatives will continue to withhold support and the GOP will face “disaster” in November, leading conservative activist Richard A. Viguerie declared.

“Republican Party leaders must resign,” said Viguerie, publisher of ConservativeHQ.com and the pioneer of political direct mail.

“Leaders in the White House, the Congress, and the Republican National Committee and its affiliates, along with most Republican leaders at the state level, have failed — or outright betrayed — the conservative voters who put them in their positions.

“The result is that the Republican Party’s brand has become a negative to an extent greater than in the Watergate era, perhaps even worse than in the days of Herbert Hoover.”

Viguerie made these points:

-- The number of new Republican voters is flat while Democratic voter registration is soaring.

-- Contributions to Republican candidates and committees are way off, while donations to Democrats are "setting records."

-- In this year’s primaries, votes for GOP candidates at all levels are running far behind the Democrats.

-- In recent special elections, Republicans lost House seats in Illinois, Louisiana, and Mississippi that had long been in GOP hands — all in districts carried overwhelmingly by President Bush. A single election can be a fluke, but when Republicans lose three seemingly safe seats in a row, “disaster is looming.”

“The hard work of the last 50 years by millions of conservative campaign workers, donors, candidates, writers, intellectuals, and activists has been trashed,” he said.

“The conservative movement has been set back 10 to 20 years — possibly even permanently — by politicians consumed by power.”

He named a number of prominent Republicans, including President Bush, Karl Rove, party chairman Mike Duncan, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, and House Minority Whip Roy Blunt.

“Some deserve more of the blame than others, but they are all part of an establishment that has brought the Republican Party down,” added Viguerie, whose latest book is “Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big-Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause.”

“For things to change, for conservatives to be justified in once again giving our contributions, our volunteer efforts, our energy, and votes to the GOP, the party must clean house. The party leadership should resign immediately.

“Republicans are doomed to wander in the political wilderness until this generation of weak-kneed, no-vision, inarticulate, afraid-of-the-liberal-media politicians are replaced with principled conservatives in the mold of Bill Buckley, Barry Goldwater, and Ronald Reagan.”

Viguerie has this message for the current GOP leadership: “For the future of the Republican Party, for America, and the cause of freedom: Go!”

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Michelle Malkin has a link to some sizzling hot comments from conservatives on the National Republican Congressional Committee's blog.