Politico: GOP Uncivil War is Coming to Florida

With momentum from what should be a huge victory in a special election in New York's 23rd Congression district, the tea-baggers are expected to next set their sights on three Republican Senate candidates recruited by Republican Party--Rep. Mark Kirk of Illinois, Rep. Rob Simmons of Connecticut, and Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida. From By Charles Mahtesian and Alex Isenstadt at Politico.com:

These high-stakes primaries, pitting the activist wing of the party against the establishment wing, stand to have a profound impact on the 2010 election landscape since they will create significant problems for moderate candidates recruited by the national party precisely because they appear well-suited to win in places that are not easily — or even plausibly — won by conservative candidates.

The tensions between the two visions threaten to limit the party’s gains in an election year that is shaping up in its favor.

Party strategists worry that well-funded, well-organized challenges from the right could force Republicans to exhaust precious resources on messy primary fights — or force moderate candidates to adopt more strident positions early on that could haunt them during the final months of the campaign.

Joe Scarborough, former Republican congressman from Florida's 1st Congressional District and co-host of MSNBC's Morning Joe made an interesting point this morning. While the tea-baggers might be comprised of people who believe that the earth is 6000 years old and that freedom means lower taxes, but the right to control your body or marry the person you love, what is driving the movement and giving the GOP some support form moderates is the massive increase in spending. He argues that Democrats will have trouble competing against conservatives who are running on a purely economic platform. Screaming about abortion and gay rights won't go very far if your the GOP candidate isn't talking about it, in his view.

Perhaps this is true, but here in Florida, would you rather Kendrick Meek go up against a relatively popular Republican governor whose mose fervent supporters include pragmatic and moderate Republicans and indepents or would you rather Kendrick Meek face a candidate whose base of supporters traveled 900 miles to Washington, DC to protest taxes that haven't been raised and a health care plan that won't result in a government takeover while holding these lovely signs?

Set aside the logical argument for crossing party lines to vote for Marco Rubio in the GOP primary next summer. You should consider supporting Marco Rubio purely for the entertainment value! This is the kind of logic you want from your opponents: