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NC-02: NRCC Tells Ellmers to Twist

by: James L.

Fri Nov 05, 2010 at 2:42 PM EDT


Just walk away, Renee. You won't see me follow you back home:

Republican Renee Ellmers, who will likely face a recount in her bid to unseat Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.), appealed for help Thursday from the National Republican Congressional Committee.

The NRCC declined and Ellmers isn't happy about it.  

The Republican said she asked the committee for help covering the costs related to a looming recount - Ellmers leads Etheridge by some 1,600 votes and earlier this week the incumbent signaled his intention to request a recount.

After elections officials discovered a counting error in one of the state's counties, the Republican's lead over Etheridge shrunk. The difference between the two is now less than 1 percent of the vote, enabling Etheridge to ask for a recount.

Now, the Ellmers campaign has always had a notoriously frosty relationship with the NRCC, but since when is that a valid reason to cut a seat loose? What the hell is going on here?
James L. :: NC-02: NRCC Tells Ellmers to Twist
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NC-02: NRCC Tells Ellmers to Twist | 25 comments
Any chance
Elmers knew the NRCC was behind the camera incident and she hated that and made it known?  Or does the NRCC have dirt on Ellmers that they know might come out later and not want to be associated?

Its definitely weird.

North Carolina in
general was weird this election. The D's got killed in the state legislature but were able to hold all their house seats except Ethridge, and who knows what will happen there.  

TX-13,22,Dem
Four possible reasons, related and not mutually exclusive, why the NRCC wouldn't help her......
First, she's a loose cannon, they'd just as soon not go the extra mile to help some one who will be yet another bombthrower who throws the party off message now that they're in power in the House.

Second, they don't need the seat.  They have their largest majority since at least the Truman/Eisenhower period, and they're a disciplined caucus even with far fewer seats.

Third, recounts seldom reverse an outcome, she's likely to prevail anyway.  I'll be shocked if Etheridge ends up reelected; his better bet is to make a 2012 comeback.

As I said, these reasons are related, closely so, not mutually exclusive.  They just don't need to blow effort on this, and they can call whatever result occurs a win-win in that either they get an extra seat to pad the margin, or they escape having to suffer a blowhard.  It's unconventional, yes, but it's not a bad decision.

43, male, Indian-American, Democrat, VA-10

I doubt there's a 2012 comeback for him
The Republicans will draw a seat he can't win.  
[ Parent ]
I concur..
Etheridge or another Dem will take the seat back in 2012, unless they really jack it up with redistricting (and Holder's DOJ let's them get away with it).  

Indepedent/Lean D. Dude.
All 5s (now TX-5; frmly VA-5 and CA-5)  
[ Parent ]
Doubt it . . .
the seat will be reconfigured to elect a Republican.  The GOP controls the redistricting process in NC.  
[ Parent ]
Governor
Does the governor have no say in North Carolina? I know some states have veto power for redistricting.

26 White Male. Born and raised in MN-8, currently living in MN-5.

"A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything."

[ Parent ]
No, no veto power in North Carolina.
[ Parent ]
CA 11: Harmer goes to court
can a 1,600 vote lead
really be overcome in a recount? Seems like they aren't risking much by not helping her.
Agree
I don't know why the NRCC would bother helping her with such a stout lead. That's money better spent elsewhere, like maybe CA-11. I look at this as another example of Tea Party candidates seeing conspiracies where there are none - i.e. "the national GOP is out to get me!!!!"
[ Parent ]
I think
I think the biggest reason they are not helping her is that they are probably flat broke and in debt.  Now, of course they can get more money in and will, but also, they are sending a message to members that they need to be self-sufficient.  Ellmers should have no trouble raising the money she needs to protect her in the recount; I assume that donors tapped for the election can be hit up again.  She's about to go to Congress - how hard will it be to get this money in?
Now, I'm sure she'd rather not have to make the calls and just have the NRCC come in and pay for it, but if she wants to be successful, she has to learn to do things for herself.  She got elected with a lot of help, but she's in the front door.  Time to get to work, Renee.

43 - Male - GOP/Libertarian - FL 22
Can
Karl Rove have one of his millionaire donors write a check toward the "Renee Ellmers recount fund"?

19, Male, Independent, CA-12
[ Parent ]
That makes more sense
If the NRCC had the money, I think it'd be in their best interest to help her.

After all, if she is a bomb thrower -- the best way for the NRCC to set off her fuse is to stand aside -- as they're doing now.

[ Parent ]
Maffei asked his supporters for cash
Same for Massa in '06.  Unless its a statewide recount, the candidate should be able to fund on their own.

NY-29
[ Parent ]
They probably know just how far out she is
Did they spend any money on this race? I can't remember. I thought that this was a race that was supposed to be competitive and then a lot of people backed away once they saw how...passionate...Elmers is. That crazy ad probably didn't help. They might not really want her as a face of their new caucus.

I am surprised Virginia Foxx and Sue Myrick aren't giving her money. She is their triplet!

I mean competitive after the
video tracker incident.
[ Parent ]
How did he lost this race
if the others held on? Just what the hell happened? The only thing I know about this race is that someone else here called him an idiot because he lost to an "overt bigot" like Ellmers.  

"I have never deliberately given anybody hell. I just tell the truth on the opposition-and they think it's hell."--President Harry Truman. President Obama, are you listening?
Probably the video of him accosting the guy that was videotaping him and asking him questions
Ellmers was a horrible candidate, she didn't win the race, he lost it.
[ Parent ]
It's pretty insane
that this was not only condoned by basically encouraged and supported by Republican leadership. If Democrats tried something like this, they'd be raked over the coals.  

"I have never deliberately given anybody hell. I just tell the truth on the opposition-and they think it's hell."--President Harry Truman. President Obama, are you listening?
[ Parent ]
Its
not expected of us Democrats to resort to baiting congressman, smearing war heroes, race baiting our opponents, questioning our opponents sexual orientation, their patriotism and if they are US citizens or not and other wonderful things. And thank god, if both parties resorted to dirty tactics like that, politics would be nastier than it is already and we might as well resort to how they solved political disputes in the ancient world -- at the edge of a sword.

19, Male, Independent, CA-12
[ Parent ]
And when Democrats do things like that
like Minnick did (and Grayson did something similar), they usually lose. Loretta Sanchez won in California, though.

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  
[ Parent ]
Turnout probably made the difference.
The lack of competitive races at the top of the ticket in Idaho and the Florida freakshow in the Senate race probably reduced turnout, while Cali Dems had major reasons to turn out with the governorship and a Senate seat at stake.

My blog
Twitter
Scribd
28, New Democrat, Female, TX-03 (hometown CA-26)
[ Parent ]
Good point
I think the very large Latino majority in that district also mattered a great deal, essentially making it possible for Ms. Sanchez to get away with an ethnic slur against a smaller minority. Don't get me wrong; I'm not suggesting Latino voters should have voted for the Republican, but rather, that in a district with a smaller Latino majority, I think that remark probably would have sunk her.

"I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!"
--  Will Rogers  
[ Parent ]
You should have realized by now
that the Republican Party does not concern itself with any values other than gaining and retaining power.  All of its strategic decisions put this as the first and foremost goal--above governing the country, rebuilding the economy, improving relations with foreign powers, and everything else.

Second to this first priority is the objective of promoting one's pet ideology.

See, when you yourself are in politics just to promote your own ideology, you assume that everyone else is too.  That's why they think that leftists exist to heap their ideology on everyone else.

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01

[ Parent ]
NC-02: NRCC Tells Ellmers to Twist | 25 comments

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