Friday, November 5, 2010

Joe Miller and the NRSC

When conservatives talk, the Republicans listen.

Yesterday, Joe Miller, Alaska Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, was on Mark Levin's radio program. He talked about sore loser and write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski, the ballot counting, and the lawyering up currently going on in the undecided race.

Miller noted that he hadn't even received a phone call from John Cornyn, NRSC Chairman, about what was happening in Alaska - no communication from Cornyn since the outcome of the election was known.

In effect, the NRSC was abandoning Miller as he struggles to win, and more importantly, abandoning the senate seat.

That didn't sit well with Mark Levin and it obviously didn't sit well with his listeners.

After hearing from conservatives about this inexcusable lack of support, the NRSC did an about-face.

From The Hill:

Under pressure from conservative activists, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is raising money for Joe Miller’s legal battle against Sen. Lisa Murkowski in Alaska’s Senate race.

NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas) sent out a fundraising appeal Friday afternoon asking supporters to contribute to Miller’s campaign.

“Joe Miller in Alaska is dedicated to the conservative principles we need in Washington, DC,” Cornyn wrote. “But he faces the potential of a lengthy recount.

“We need to get Joe the resources he needs to win the vote count,” Cornyn added.

Cornyn issued his fundraising letter as conservative activists have been flooding his offices with phone calls demanding the NRSC do more to help Miller, who bested Murkowski in the GOP primary to become the party’s nominee. Murkowski then mounted a challenge to him as a write-in candidate in the general election.

Conservative talk-show radio host Mark Levin has asked his listeners to call Cornyn’s Senate office and “ask him why he is not sending money and lawyers to Alaska to help Joe Miller in the counting of write-in votes,” according to his website.

“The test for the NRSC is what it does for Joe Miller in Alaska — this is the key fight,” Levin said on his program Thursday. “There will now be a major battle over the validity and intent of every one of Alaska’s ballots.”

Levin said that Tea Party activists would watch the NRSC’s actions in Alaska closely.

...Conservative and Tea Party activists have complained that the NRSC did not do enough to help Miller in Alaska.

They are pointing to a television ad the committee launched in Alaska that attacked McAdams, the Democrat, but made no mention of Miller’s campaign.

Some conservatives complain the ad could have helped Murkowski by pushing the votes of conservative Democrats and independents away from McAdams and to Murkowski.

At least, the NRSC listened.

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