North Carolina Shows Strains Within G.O.P.

[elleng]

There is a Tea Party candidate who talks about the Constitution and has the backing of Senator Rand Paul. There is a Baptist pastor, endorsed by Mike Huckabee, who wears a “Jesus First” lapel pin and has led the fight against same-sex marriage. And there is a Republican state lawmaker — supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and $1 million from Karl Rove’s American Crossroads group — standing up for the party establishment.

In the high-profile Republican primary for Senate here, the divisions that are gripping the party nationally are playing out powerfully, expensively and often very messily. And, after haunting losses in 2012 in which far-right Senate candidates prevailed in primaries only to collapse in the general election, the Republican establishment is determined to stifle the more radical challengers.

The stakes are not low. Republicans view the Democratic incumbent, Kay Hagan, as especially imperiled, and North Carolina as a genuine opportunity to gain a seat in their quest to win control of the Senate. Outside groups on both sides have already poured more than $13 million into the state, in a sign of how seriously party strategists and donors view the race.

“What I really see is the national Republican civil war playing out here in North Carolina,” said Thomas Mills, a political blogger in Carrboro, a town near Chapel Hill. “You’ve got all the factions of the party.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/13/us/politics/north-carolina-shows-strains-within-republican-party.html?hp

[yeoman6987]

1. Republicans are going to fight like heck for this seat

Democrats must be ready and vote vote vote.

[elleng]

2. Democrats have some serious work to do in NC,

and sure as hell should do it. It USED to be a rational state, imo.

[yeoman6987]

3. It did vote for President Obama in 2008

So it certainly can be done.

[elleng]

4. Yes, I suspect it can be done,

given its history.

[gopiscrap]

5. I hope the repukes tear each other apart with

no one left standing!

[hollysmom]

6. According to my sister, many people who voted for Obama thought their job was done.

she could not talk to them for voting in the rest of the spots. And they also said they would be back the next presidential election - who thinks like this? I wonder if there is some one being paid off to train them to think this way.