Ares
15th February 2013, 07:55 PM
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(The Subsidiarity Times) The GOP Civil War has begun to unravel the Republican Party as many strategists now begin to fear that the party will soon split in two. The war, which officially began with the purge of the four fiscally responsible U.S. representatives from their committees by Speaker of the House John Boehner in late 2012, has grown and expanded as the first two months of the year 2013 have progressed. Across the nation, members of the three major grassroots groups (Ron Paul’s Liberty Movement, the grassroots-oriented Tea Party and the religiously-oriented Social Conservatives) have made determined efforts to reject pushes by Establishment Republicans and RINOs (Republicans-in-name-only) to regain control of the local Republican Parties, which they have slowly been losing control of since 2010. The war is only beginning to heat up and looks to become more nasty as the year 2013 continues. What shall be presented now is a summary of the civil war since December.
Battlegrounds:
1. Washington D.C.: Speaker of the House John Boehner officially inaugurated the GOP Civil War with his purge of Liberty Movement Republican representatives Justin Amash of Michigan and Walter B. Jones of North Carolina and Tea Party Republican representatives Tim Huelskamp of Kansas and David Schweikert of Arizona from key positions on House Budget and Finance Committees. By this action, Boehner made it clear that the uneasy alliance that had existed for the 2012 elections between grassroots Republicans and Establishment Republicans against President Obama and his Democratic allies was now over and that the Establishment was now determined to carry out on the threat they had made at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, namely that those who did not play by the rules of the Establishment Republicans and RINOs would receive no place in the Republican Party of the 21st Century. The backlash resulted in talk of a revolt against John Boehner which would cost him the House Speaker position, but due to the lateness of the effort and the unwillingness of proposed candidates Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) to actually mount a campaign for Speaker, the offensive fell woefully short and Boehner defeated a host of undeclared candidates as well as Nancy Pelosi for a second term as Speaker of the House, leaving the Establishment on top in the first campaign of the GOP Civil War.
Battle Result: Establishment Victory
2. Washington State: Liberty Movement Republicans sought to take control of the King County GOP in December 2012, but were unable to show sufficient strength to do so. However, the Establishment can not claim total victory here because of the use of unethical tricks to deny the ability to participate in the party organization meeting to several Liberty Movement members who were new to the party. These tricks and arguments will be unusable in 2014 and the Liberty Movement in King County is already planning another run at taking over the King County GOP next year with the added advantage of their increased numbers.
Battle Result: Draw
3. Florida: Liberty Movement Republicans swept into several positions in the Republican Party of Miami-Dade County and seem to have taken plurality control of it. They failed to win the chairmanship, but they won the vice-chairmanship and treasurer positions and effectively secured a plurality of the district committee seats, making the Miami-Dade County Republican Party a bastion of the Liberty Movement in Senator Marco Rubio’s literal backyard.
Battle Result: Grassroots Victory
4. Michigan: The state which in 2010 gave the Liberty Movement its biggest new star in the House of Representatives in Justin Amash of Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District, saw the Liberty Movement sweep into control of Michigan’s Muskegon County Republican Party. They won the chairmanship, vice-chairmanship, secretary and treasurer positions as well as a majority on the county party’s executive committee. It was a sweeping success for the Liberty Movement in a state which appears to be more receptive to Liberty Movement Republicans than Establishment Republicans.
Battle Result: Grassroots Victory
5. Arizona: This state saw the Establishment use unethical tactics and dirty tricks to shut out Liberty Movement and Tea Party delegates in the 2012 presidential primaries, but now Liberty Movement members have streamed out of the grassroots like members of a guerrilla army and swept into control of the executive committees of the local Republican parties in the counties of Mohave, Yavapai and many others. It might not be an understatement to say this has been the biggest turnaround in the GOP Civil War to date.
Battle Result: Grassroots Victory
6. Iowa: Ron Paul’s first big victory in the 2012 presidential primaries saw members of the Liberty Movement such as A.J. Spiker take control of the Iowa Republican Party. They handily won re-election to their positions heading the state party and appear to be firmly entrenched in the state which currently holds the title of being first in the nation in presidential primary voting.
Battle Result: Grassroots Victory
7. Oklahoma: Liberty Movement activists were shut out of the Oklahoma Republican Convention in the 2012 presidential primaries, but like in Arizona, they have been given the call to come out of the grassroots like a guerrilla army and flood the races for the party offices in the Oklahoma Republican Party which will take place from February to April. So far information on the battle there is sketchy, but if they come out in the same numbers that they did in Arizona and ally with frustrated Tea Party activists, they could complete the second big turnaround of the GOP Civil War.
Battle Result: Ongoing
8. RNC Chairmanship: In one of the more unexpected advances from the Liberty Movement, RNC committee member Mark Willis of Maine launched a campaign to challenge incumbent Reince Priebus for the national chairmanship of the Republican Party. Due to a smear campaign from the Establishment and possibly a late start, Willis failed to even get his name put in nomination at the RNC’s annual meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina and thus Priebus handily won re-election. However, the victory was a Pyrrhic one for the Establishment as it forced Priebus and his allies in the Establishment Republicans to re-focus time and resources away from the grassroots fights in places like Florida, Michigan and Arizona and (at least temporarily) abandon plans for purging and re-organizing the Nevada and Iowa Republican parties in order to shore up support for Priebus’ re-election. Priebus was even forced to resort to courting Ron Paul supporters in order to ensure his re-election which, no doubt, had to be humiliating after the way Priebus allowed the Ron Paul supporters to be treated at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa. Finally, in an effort to keep the Republican Party from splitting apart, Priebus was forced to extend an olive branch to the Liberty Movement through a conversation with a member of the Texas Republican Liberty Caucus even after he was re-elected, which was icing on the cake for the Liberty Movement’s surprise offensive. Though unsuccessful in its ultimate goal of replacing Priebus, Willis’ campaign did more to advance the cause of the grassroots and the Liberty Movement then he possibly could have expected when he undertook it upon himself to challenge Priebus.
Battle Result: Establishment Victory
9. Alaska: A brewing nasty fight inside the Alaska Republican Party, stemming from the scandal-plagued 2010 United States Senate race, finally erupted into open warfare in the 2012 Republican presidential primaries. Liberty Movement members allied with Alaska Tea Party leader and 2010 Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Joe Miller to take the Alaska Republican Party leadership positions away from the Establishment during the 2012 presidential primaries. However, the outgoing Establishment leaders came back with vague, frivolous or set-up charges against the chairman-elect Russ Millette and vice chair-elect Debra Brown; both Liberty Movement members. Millette, after putting up a good fight, was successfully ousted in a well-orchestrated coup on January 31st, but the Establishment failed to oust Brown and prevent her from ascending to the chairmanship to replace Millette. This is likely not the end of the ongoing efforts to regain control of the Alaska Republican Party by the Establishment however, especially with a Democratic senator up for re-election in 2014 in a state with an Alaska Democratic Party dying and falling into disarray.
Battle Result: Ongoing
10. Minnesota: The Liberty Movement, working closely with the Tea Party, has made amazing strides in Minnesota since the Liberty Movement was officially founded in 2008 at the Rally for the Republic following the Republican National Convention in the capitol city of St. Paul. The Tea Party handily won the Republican gubernatorial nomination for Tom Emmer in 2010, the Liberty Movement secured Ron Paul a second place popular vote finish and a majority of the Minnesota Republican national delegates in the 2012 Republican presidential primaries and the Liberty Movement and Tea Party united to win the 2012 Republican U.S. Senate nomination for state representative Kurt Bills. These nomination victories have not yet resulted in very many electoral victories as of yet for these candidates as Minnesota is a heavily-unionized Democrat-leaning state. The Establishment Republicans and RINOS have taken advantage of this and the fact that Minnesota has a three party system in the state (the third party being the Independence Party of Minnesota). In 2010 and 2012, the Establishment helped contribute to defeats of Tea Party and Liberty Movement candidates in general elections by either abandoning them to their own devices (as in the case of Bills) or by endorsing the candidates of the Independence Party (as in the case of Emmer). Using these electoral defeats to try and make their argument that the Liberty Movement and Tea Party cannot hope to win in Minnesota, the Establishment is now seeking a new offensive to acquire and cement control of the leadership positions in the Minnesota Republican Party. The Liberty Movement and Tea Party, which share a closer relationship in Minnesota then is usually found in the rest of the nation, have put forward their own candidates for the state party leadership positions, thus seeking to solidify the power they have already gained in the Minnesota Republican Party before looking forward to the gubernatorial and senate races in 2014. This fight appears to be turning very intense as whichever faction wins may determine the direction of the Minnesota Republican Party for years to come. If the Establishment fails here after being presented with such a great opportunity following the losses by Emmer and Bills, they may never regain the initiative and may be forced to abandon the Minnesota Republican Party altogether. This means the fight here will likely be a long, protracted and very nasty one.
Battle Result: Ongoing
11. Virginia: Liberty Movement Republicans, Tea Party Republicans and Social Conservative Republicans formed an alliance to back Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in his bid for the Republican endorsement for Governor of Virginia and have effectively won the nomination for him. However, this does mean the end of the fight in this state. As he admitted that he had been defeated by a coalition of Liberty Movement, Tea Party and Social Conservative members, incumbent Virginia Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling held out the possibility that he will launch an independent campaign for Virginia Governor. As the mainstream media and Establishment Republicans have continued to attack Cuccinelli, Bolling’s hints at such a possibility have grown stronger to the point that it seems an announcement of an independent campaign for Governor from Bolling might take place as soon as mid-March. Powerful forces led by Liberty Movement/Tea Party leaders like Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) have already thrown their weight into the fight to support Cuccinelli, while Bolling, if he runs, might seek allies in the Establishment such as former Bush adviser and Establishment party boss Karl Rove. If this happens, then the sheer weight of the forces being thrown into this race will likely make it the biggest Grassroots vs Establishment face-off to date and lead to the beginning of the official split in the Republican Party. Needless to say, all eyes, Grassroots and Establishment, will be on this race as it unfolds over the course of the year heading into November.
Battle Result: Ongoing
12. New York: Social Conservatives were dealt a great shock with the announcement of a massive pro-death agenda being pushed by Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the state legislature. They have mobilized their grassroots forces in one of the strongest Establishment states in the country to put massive pressure on Establishment Republicans and independent Democrats in the state legislature to vote against Cuomo’s legislation, and it appears to be working. If the Social Conservatives achieve this victory over Cuomo, one of the best-known Democrats in the nation, it could start a crack in the Establishment’s hold on New York and open the door for social conservatives, Tea Partiers and Liberty Movement members to finally start making advances against the Establishment Republicans in the Empire State, which would make the GOP Civil War take an even more interesting turn.
Battle Result: Ongoing
13. 2013/2014 National Races: The Establishment did not take very long to start putting plans forward for 2014. Continuing to try and portray the image that social conservatives, Tea Partiers and Liberty Movement members cannot hope to win general elections, Establishment party boss Karl Rove, together with certain other Establishment leaders, founded the poorly-named “Conservative Victory Project” PAC (political action committee) with the announced purpose of defeating grassroots challengers to Establishment candidates and the speculated purpose of supporting Establishment challengers to Tea Party, Liberty Movement and Social Conservative incumbents. With this announcement declaring an electoral war against these grassroots groups, the group Tea Party Patriots countered by founding the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund Super-PAC (super political actiona committee) to combat Rove and his PAC. This Super-PAC has allies in groups such as the Club for Growth, which is already seeking to back grassroots challengers to Establishment incumbents such as Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina and will likely be able to gather more allies to present a united opposition to Rove and his forces. However what makes this even more interesting is the announced purpose of the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund to even fund third party candidates if they feel a need to and the possibility that Rove’s PAC could do the same in places like Virginia where he could potentially back Establishment Republican and incumbent Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling in a possible independent bid for the Virginia Governorship. If this happens, then the fracturing of the Republican Party could start taking place at spectacular breakneck speed as Establishment and Grassroots go separate ways.
Battle Result: Ongoing
14. National Spotlight: For the first time in memory, there were two contrasting responses to the State of the Union address given by the President of the United States. The official Republican Party response was given by former-Tea-Party-member-turned-Establishment-insider Senator Marco Rubio of Florida while the Tea Party had their own independent response given by Liberty Movement/Tea Party Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. This event presented the stark divide between the Republican Party hierarchy and the Grassroots out in the open for the whole nation to see and made it clear that the breach between the two sides is slowly becoming irreparable. It also presented the difference between the two as the Establishment Republican response was full of vague references, old talking points and slogans while the Tea Party response contained specific proposals and actions which could be taken. It inauguarated a battle in the national spotlight between Establishment Republican spokesmen and Grassroots Republican spokesmen which will likely continue until the Republican Party officially fractures or the 2016 presidential primaries begin, whichever comes first. However, in the first battle in the national spotlight between the two groups, Paul clearly had the upper hand over Rubio with his specific proposals which gained the Grassroots efforts favorable publicity as the GOP Civil War continues into March of 2013.
Battle Result: Ongoing
15. Extra Note: There is a report out of California that a Liberty Movement member has won election to a treasurer position in the California GOP, but there is little other news on the GOP Civil War fight taking place there.
Battle Result: Undetermined
http://subsidiaritytimes.com/2013/02/14/gopcivilwarfebruary2013/
(The Subsidiarity Times) The GOP Civil War has begun to unravel the Republican Party as many strategists now begin to fear that the party will soon split in two. The war, which officially began with the purge of the four fiscally responsible U.S. representatives from their committees by Speaker of the House John Boehner in late 2012, has grown and expanded as the first two months of the year 2013 have progressed. Across the nation, members of the three major grassroots groups (Ron Paul’s Liberty Movement, the grassroots-oriented Tea Party and the religiously-oriented Social Conservatives) have made determined efforts to reject pushes by Establishment Republicans and RINOs (Republicans-in-name-only) to regain control of the local Republican Parties, which they have slowly been losing control of since 2010. The war is only beginning to heat up and looks to become more nasty as the year 2013 continues. What shall be presented now is a summary of the civil war since December.
Battlegrounds:
1. Washington D.C.: Speaker of the House John Boehner officially inaugurated the GOP Civil War with his purge of Liberty Movement Republican representatives Justin Amash of Michigan and Walter B. Jones of North Carolina and Tea Party Republican representatives Tim Huelskamp of Kansas and David Schweikert of Arizona from key positions on House Budget and Finance Committees. By this action, Boehner made it clear that the uneasy alliance that had existed for the 2012 elections between grassroots Republicans and Establishment Republicans against President Obama and his Democratic allies was now over and that the Establishment was now determined to carry out on the threat they had made at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, namely that those who did not play by the rules of the Establishment Republicans and RINOs would receive no place in the Republican Party of the 21st Century. The backlash resulted in talk of a revolt against John Boehner which would cost him the House Speaker position, but due to the lateness of the effort and the unwillingness of proposed candidates Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) to actually mount a campaign for Speaker, the offensive fell woefully short and Boehner defeated a host of undeclared candidates as well as Nancy Pelosi for a second term as Speaker of the House, leaving the Establishment on top in the first campaign of the GOP Civil War.
Battle Result: Establishment Victory
2. Washington State: Liberty Movement Republicans sought to take control of the King County GOP in December 2012, but were unable to show sufficient strength to do so. However, the Establishment can not claim total victory here because of the use of unethical tricks to deny the ability to participate in the party organization meeting to several Liberty Movement members who were new to the party. These tricks and arguments will be unusable in 2014 and the Liberty Movement in King County is already planning another run at taking over the King County GOP next year with the added advantage of their increased numbers.
Battle Result: Draw
3. Florida: Liberty Movement Republicans swept into several positions in the Republican Party of Miami-Dade County and seem to have taken plurality control of it. They failed to win the chairmanship, but they won the vice-chairmanship and treasurer positions and effectively secured a plurality of the district committee seats, making the Miami-Dade County Republican Party a bastion of the Liberty Movement in Senator Marco Rubio’s literal backyard.
Battle Result: Grassroots Victory
4. Michigan: The state which in 2010 gave the Liberty Movement its biggest new star in the House of Representatives in Justin Amash of Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District, saw the Liberty Movement sweep into control of Michigan’s Muskegon County Republican Party. They won the chairmanship, vice-chairmanship, secretary and treasurer positions as well as a majority on the county party’s executive committee. It was a sweeping success for the Liberty Movement in a state which appears to be more receptive to Liberty Movement Republicans than Establishment Republicans.
Battle Result: Grassroots Victory
5. Arizona: This state saw the Establishment use unethical tactics and dirty tricks to shut out Liberty Movement and Tea Party delegates in the 2012 presidential primaries, but now Liberty Movement members have streamed out of the grassroots like members of a guerrilla army and swept into control of the executive committees of the local Republican parties in the counties of Mohave, Yavapai and many others. It might not be an understatement to say this has been the biggest turnaround in the GOP Civil War to date.
Battle Result: Grassroots Victory
6. Iowa: Ron Paul’s first big victory in the 2012 presidential primaries saw members of the Liberty Movement such as A.J. Spiker take control of the Iowa Republican Party. They handily won re-election to their positions heading the state party and appear to be firmly entrenched in the state which currently holds the title of being first in the nation in presidential primary voting.
Battle Result: Grassroots Victory
7. Oklahoma: Liberty Movement activists were shut out of the Oklahoma Republican Convention in the 2012 presidential primaries, but like in Arizona, they have been given the call to come out of the grassroots like a guerrilla army and flood the races for the party offices in the Oklahoma Republican Party which will take place from February to April. So far information on the battle there is sketchy, but if they come out in the same numbers that they did in Arizona and ally with frustrated Tea Party activists, they could complete the second big turnaround of the GOP Civil War.
Battle Result: Ongoing
8. RNC Chairmanship: In one of the more unexpected advances from the Liberty Movement, RNC committee member Mark Willis of Maine launched a campaign to challenge incumbent Reince Priebus for the national chairmanship of the Republican Party. Due to a smear campaign from the Establishment and possibly a late start, Willis failed to even get his name put in nomination at the RNC’s annual meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina and thus Priebus handily won re-election. However, the victory was a Pyrrhic one for the Establishment as it forced Priebus and his allies in the Establishment Republicans to re-focus time and resources away from the grassroots fights in places like Florida, Michigan and Arizona and (at least temporarily) abandon plans for purging and re-organizing the Nevada and Iowa Republican parties in order to shore up support for Priebus’ re-election. Priebus was even forced to resort to courting Ron Paul supporters in order to ensure his re-election which, no doubt, had to be humiliating after the way Priebus allowed the Ron Paul supporters to be treated at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa. Finally, in an effort to keep the Republican Party from splitting apart, Priebus was forced to extend an olive branch to the Liberty Movement through a conversation with a member of the Texas Republican Liberty Caucus even after he was re-elected, which was icing on the cake for the Liberty Movement’s surprise offensive. Though unsuccessful in its ultimate goal of replacing Priebus, Willis’ campaign did more to advance the cause of the grassroots and the Liberty Movement then he possibly could have expected when he undertook it upon himself to challenge Priebus.
Battle Result: Establishment Victory
9. Alaska: A brewing nasty fight inside the Alaska Republican Party, stemming from the scandal-plagued 2010 United States Senate race, finally erupted into open warfare in the 2012 Republican presidential primaries. Liberty Movement members allied with Alaska Tea Party leader and 2010 Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Joe Miller to take the Alaska Republican Party leadership positions away from the Establishment during the 2012 presidential primaries. However, the outgoing Establishment leaders came back with vague, frivolous or set-up charges against the chairman-elect Russ Millette and vice chair-elect Debra Brown; both Liberty Movement members. Millette, after putting up a good fight, was successfully ousted in a well-orchestrated coup on January 31st, but the Establishment failed to oust Brown and prevent her from ascending to the chairmanship to replace Millette. This is likely not the end of the ongoing efforts to regain control of the Alaska Republican Party by the Establishment however, especially with a Democratic senator up for re-election in 2014 in a state with an Alaska Democratic Party dying and falling into disarray.
Battle Result: Ongoing
10. Minnesota: The Liberty Movement, working closely with the Tea Party, has made amazing strides in Minnesota since the Liberty Movement was officially founded in 2008 at the Rally for the Republic following the Republican National Convention in the capitol city of St. Paul. The Tea Party handily won the Republican gubernatorial nomination for Tom Emmer in 2010, the Liberty Movement secured Ron Paul a second place popular vote finish and a majority of the Minnesota Republican national delegates in the 2012 Republican presidential primaries and the Liberty Movement and Tea Party united to win the 2012 Republican U.S. Senate nomination for state representative Kurt Bills. These nomination victories have not yet resulted in very many electoral victories as of yet for these candidates as Minnesota is a heavily-unionized Democrat-leaning state. The Establishment Republicans and RINOS have taken advantage of this and the fact that Minnesota has a three party system in the state (the third party being the Independence Party of Minnesota). In 2010 and 2012, the Establishment helped contribute to defeats of Tea Party and Liberty Movement candidates in general elections by either abandoning them to their own devices (as in the case of Bills) or by endorsing the candidates of the Independence Party (as in the case of Emmer). Using these electoral defeats to try and make their argument that the Liberty Movement and Tea Party cannot hope to win in Minnesota, the Establishment is now seeking a new offensive to acquire and cement control of the leadership positions in the Minnesota Republican Party. The Liberty Movement and Tea Party, which share a closer relationship in Minnesota then is usually found in the rest of the nation, have put forward their own candidates for the state party leadership positions, thus seeking to solidify the power they have already gained in the Minnesota Republican Party before looking forward to the gubernatorial and senate races in 2014. This fight appears to be turning very intense as whichever faction wins may determine the direction of the Minnesota Republican Party for years to come. If the Establishment fails here after being presented with such a great opportunity following the losses by Emmer and Bills, they may never regain the initiative and may be forced to abandon the Minnesota Republican Party altogether. This means the fight here will likely be a long, protracted and very nasty one.
Battle Result: Ongoing
11. Virginia: Liberty Movement Republicans, Tea Party Republicans and Social Conservative Republicans formed an alliance to back Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in his bid for the Republican endorsement for Governor of Virginia and have effectively won the nomination for him. However, this does mean the end of the fight in this state. As he admitted that he had been defeated by a coalition of Liberty Movement, Tea Party and Social Conservative members, incumbent Virginia Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling held out the possibility that he will launch an independent campaign for Virginia Governor. As the mainstream media and Establishment Republicans have continued to attack Cuccinelli, Bolling’s hints at such a possibility have grown stronger to the point that it seems an announcement of an independent campaign for Governor from Bolling might take place as soon as mid-March. Powerful forces led by Liberty Movement/Tea Party leaders like Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) have already thrown their weight into the fight to support Cuccinelli, while Bolling, if he runs, might seek allies in the Establishment such as former Bush adviser and Establishment party boss Karl Rove. If this happens, then the sheer weight of the forces being thrown into this race will likely make it the biggest Grassroots vs Establishment face-off to date and lead to the beginning of the official split in the Republican Party. Needless to say, all eyes, Grassroots and Establishment, will be on this race as it unfolds over the course of the year heading into November.
Battle Result: Ongoing
12. New York: Social Conservatives were dealt a great shock with the announcement of a massive pro-death agenda being pushed by Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the state legislature. They have mobilized their grassroots forces in one of the strongest Establishment states in the country to put massive pressure on Establishment Republicans and independent Democrats in the state legislature to vote against Cuomo’s legislation, and it appears to be working. If the Social Conservatives achieve this victory over Cuomo, one of the best-known Democrats in the nation, it could start a crack in the Establishment’s hold on New York and open the door for social conservatives, Tea Partiers and Liberty Movement members to finally start making advances against the Establishment Republicans in the Empire State, which would make the GOP Civil War take an even more interesting turn.
Battle Result: Ongoing
13. 2013/2014 National Races: The Establishment did not take very long to start putting plans forward for 2014. Continuing to try and portray the image that social conservatives, Tea Partiers and Liberty Movement members cannot hope to win general elections, Establishment party boss Karl Rove, together with certain other Establishment leaders, founded the poorly-named “Conservative Victory Project” PAC (political action committee) with the announced purpose of defeating grassroots challengers to Establishment candidates and the speculated purpose of supporting Establishment challengers to Tea Party, Liberty Movement and Social Conservative incumbents. With this announcement declaring an electoral war against these grassroots groups, the group Tea Party Patriots countered by founding the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund Super-PAC (super political actiona committee) to combat Rove and his PAC. This Super-PAC has allies in groups such as the Club for Growth, which is already seeking to back grassroots challengers to Establishment incumbents such as Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina and will likely be able to gather more allies to present a united opposition to Rove and his forces. However what makes this even more interesting is the announced purpose of the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund to even fund third party candidates if they feel a need to and the possibility that Rove’s PAC could do the same in places like Virginia where he could potentially back Establishment Republican and incumbent Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling in a possible independent bid for the Virginia Governorship. If this happens, then the fracturing of the Republican Party could start taking place at spectacular breakneck speed as Establishment and Grassroots go separate ways.
Battle Result: Ongoing
14. National Spotlight: For the first time in memory, there were two contrasting responses to the State of the Union address given by the President of the United States. The official Republican Party response was given by former-Tea-Party-member-turned-Establishment-insider Senator Marco Rubio of Florida while the Tea Party had their own independent response given by Liberty Movement/Tea Party Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. This event presented the stark divide between the Republican Party hierarchy and the Grassroots out in the open for the whole nation to see and made it clear that the breach between the two sides is slowly becoming irreparable. It also presented the difference between the two as the Establishment Republican response was full of vague references, old talking points and slogans while the Tea Party response contained specific proposals and actions which could be taken. It inauguarated a battle in the national spotlight between Establishment Republican spokesmen and Grassroots Republican spokesmen which will likely continue until the Republican Party officially fractures or the 2016 presidential primaries begin, whichever comes first. However, in the first battle in the national spotlight between the two groups, Paul clearly had the upper hand over Rubio with his specific proposals which gained the Grassroots efforts favorable publicity as the GOP Civil War continues into March of 2013.
Battle Result: Ongoing
15. Extra Note: There is a report out of California that a Liberty Movement member has won election to a treasurer position in the California GOP, but there is little other news on the GOP Civil War fight taking place there.
Battle Result: Undetermined
http://subsidiaritytimes.com/2013/02/14/gopcivilwarfebruary2013/