GOP seeks weak Tea

Old guard GOPers looking to avoid the bloodbath of 2012 primary season have a plan to shut down Tea Party conservatives.

A Republican National Committee meeting to compress the 2016 primary schedule grew heated Thursday, as supporters of rule changes beat back repeated attempts by a handful of conservative activists to torpedo them.

The push to shorten the presidential nominating process and have an early summer convention is an effort to give the eventual nominee time to raise money, unite the GOP, and hopefully avoid excessive infighting in the party. Many Republicans believe the lengthy nominating process in 2012 hurt Mitt Romney's chances.

Virginia Committeeman Morton Blackwell and a half-dozen RNC members from state parties where the party's libertarian wing has wrested control fought hard against a series of changes to stretch the primary process out. Their fear is that a shorter primary season stymies the possibility a lightly funded movement conservative could win the nomination and unfairly benefits cash-flush, establishment candidates.

Well of course it will shut down Tea Party challenges to the establishment picks. That's obviously the point. Now the crackpot cons will find out just how little value they retain for the Republican Party. Good for the GOP, not so good for the Democrats. Our best hope on the left is that the Tea Party crackpots will be so pissed off at being shut out that they splinter off and start their own damn party. Not holding my breath. It's most likely their hatred of libruls will trump their pride and they'll fall in line when it's time to vote.

Update: Just in. The RNC passed the rule change in a landslide vote.