SC "big win for the Tea Party-style right and a defeat for GOP moderation"

[1776Forever]

TPM: GOP Rep. Bob Inglis Goes Down Hard In Primary -- For The Crime Of Moderation
Eric Kleefeld | June 22, 2010, 8:53PM

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/trey-gowdy /

Another incumbent member of Congress has gone down in defeat in their primary -- and in this case, it's a big win for the Tea Party-style right and a defeat for GOP moderation, with Rep. Bob Inglis losing to Spartanburg County Solicitor Trey Gowdy.

With 75% of precincts reporting, Gowdy leads Inglis by a whopping 73%-27%. In the first-round primary two weeks ago, Gowdy had actually come in first place with 39%, and Inglis was behind at 28% -- practically the death-knell for the incumbent. In the home stretch of the primary, Inglis appeared on the Colbert Report, in an interview making fun of his own dire straits, and even included a joke about the Birthers.

Inglis had been targeted for defeat by the right, due his various heresies from core conservative doctrines: He has called for action on climate change, told Tea Partiers to "turn Glenn Beck off," and he called upon fellow South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson to apologize for yelling "You lie" at President Obama during that famous addresses to Congress in September 2009. Combine that with a general anti-incumbent, anti-Washington mood in the country, and you have one defeated Congressman.

.......

Another Tea Party extremist to steer the GOP into the pit.

[sufrommich]

1. Yep, hopefully we've got a good democrat to run against

the crazy.

[polichick]

2. No kidding! SC is turning into the Land of the Wackadoodles! nt

[izquierdista]

3. What do you mean 'turning'?

[customerserviceguy]

4. Still, one thing is holding

Tea partiers cannot win outside of fairly red areas. I can't think of a blue state or district that nominated a bagger, and all the baggers that have won their nominations are in very conservative areas.

Somebody correct me on this if I'm mistaken here.

[miscsoc]

5. Didn't the Maine GOP adopt a teabagging platform?

I'm not sure, but I think that's a pretty moderate state.

Also republican party branches in bluer areas can be in some ways much more vulnerable to radical takeover - a small group of zealots can overwhelm an even smaller group of country-club types. Apparently there was a lot of this in the fifties and sixties.

[customerserviceguy]

6. Platforms are voted on by party activists

I cannot recall any situation where a moderate state elected or nominated a tea partier at the ballot box. While it's true the the Rethugs are vulnerable to attack by the tea baggers, that doesn't necessarily mean that the voters of a state will go along with their agenda.

[ThomWV]

7. South Carolina is rapidly replacing Utah as the most idiotic state in the Nation

[customerserviceguy]

8. I've been to both

Even lived in Utah, and SC has a long, long way to go to even catch up to Utah's shadow.