Despite the mainstream media narrative that the Republican Party is at war with itself – tea party versus establishment Republicans — former GOP House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay writes in The Washington Times that primary battles are good for the party.
The primaries, to date, "have produced strong leaders and candidates, men and women of faith and a burning desire to protect the Constitution, figures who can both promote conservative causes and win in November," writes DeLay, who was a congressman from Texas for 22 years before stepping down in 2006.
"I have in fact never seen the Republican Party as a whole so excited, so energized, so motivated as it is right now," he writes.
"People are coming out and participating. That has a lot to do with the fact that the American people have seen the consequences of government by the left and by the Obama administration, and they don't like it. I'm seeing all kinds of people who were never involved in politics before stepping up, not just tea party activists, but people who are signing up with the tea party, with the Republican Party and with conservative causes dedicated to reversing this country's political drift to the left."
Polls also don't offer any evidence that hard-fought primaries are hurting the party, writes DeLay, who points to what pollsters refer to as the generic ballot, where voters are asked whether they prefer to vote for a Republican or a Democrat.
The generic ballot currently gives a 9-point spread favoring a Republican candidate, he said, not to mention a "huge enthusiasm gap" by members of the GOP.
"Look at this week's primary in my home state of Texas — 700,000 Republicans voted, compared to just 200,000 Democrats," DeLay points out.
Its Republicans themselves who are demanding that the party stick to its principles, he said.
"They're building a party that is going to be extremely strong and focused going into the election. And if President Obama doesn't do anything to energize his own dispirited base, the victory margin is going to be amazing. If that's what comes from "divisive" primaries and "party infighting," by all means let's have a lot more of the same through November."
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