Presidential hopeful Scott Walker has fired strategist Liz Mair for being much, much too honest and outspoken about Iowa. Apparently she doesn't like the place, the politicians, or Iowa's historical role as one of the earliest primaries. She doesn't like the fact that while in Iowa groveling for the Presidency, you have to kiss the butt of Rep. Steve King.
From Huffington Post
Liz Mair, a veteran Republican strategist, announced on Tuesday her resignation from Walker's nascent campaign after a conservative furor over a series of tweets in which she criticized Iowa's caucus system -- and its ethanol politics -- for having undue influence over the nominating process. The backlash snowballed Tuesday night, when Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann called for Mair's firing over the "naive" and "juvenile" comments.
Her downfall took about 24 hours - Hired on Monday, Forced to Resign on Tuesday
On Tuesday, shortly before 5 p.m., the New York Times ran a story quoting Iowa state Republican Chairman Jeff Kauffman, who said Mair “doesn’t have a clue what Iowa’s all about” and that Walker should fire her. That same story also quoted the co-chairman of a county Republican Party and the co-chairman of the state party saying similar things.
At 12:03 a.m. Wednesday, the AP reported that Mair was no longer a member of Walker’s campaign.
“The tone of some of my tweets concerning Iowa was at odds with that which Gov. Walker has always encouraged in political discourse,” she said in a statement. “I wish Gov. Walker and his team all the best.”
Of course many of us in the rest of America totally agree with her. But in today's GOP which is based on "purity" of thought and tweet, you just can't be this honest and practical. There's no room in the Grand Old Party for new ideas or reformation. It's sad but true.
Of course, she is still a Republican, and even while ranting about her situation - caused by conservatives - she blamed the Democrats for "digging up her tweets."
One thing I forgot to mention-- credit to Democrats (DNC or Iowa Dem Party?). They're the ones that dug up my tweets & pitched story.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 18, 2015Of course it's the Right Wing Nut Jobs in Iowa who are attacking her - not the Dems!
Final thought: People have mischaracterized my views as "hating" Iowans. That saddens me and is wrong and inaccurate.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 18, 2015It's a sad commentary that self-described Iowa Rs are emailing me calling me things like "pig," "bitch," and "dyke."
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 18, 2015For the record, I've been married to the same man for 15 years. I was with him for 2.5 years before that.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 18, 2015That's a plus for the GOP, but . . .
I'm pro gay marriage because I believe marriage is a contract and contracts should be recognized by the judiciary and broader state.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 18, 2015Sorry, now they have to hate you! Because God!
A few conservative pundits have come to Mair's defense - strange bedfellows, if you ask me! And why is pundit Erick Erickson of Red State telling his own party members to "DIAF" or "Die in a Fire"? I guess because he is more of a Libertarian these days - so to hell with everyone else, right?
From Erickson of Red State
UPDATE: I see from the Associated Press that Liz Mair has resigned from Governor Walker’s campaign. Given Liz’s work history, I will put it to you this way — Team Walker has botched this. There’s just no way Liz Mair resigned with it being her idea. I haven’t talked to her yet, but there’s just no way. So instead of Walker owning this, he’s passed the ball and made a staffer off herself. That’s unfortunate and plays into the “not ready for prime time” theme already developing around Team Walker. At least it is early.
But the voices who decided to stir this pot need to DIAF as far as I’m concerned.
For the record, you can't enjoin people to follow Christian ethics and then tell them to die in a fire in the update. http://t.co/9NyRjWZ0GV
— Andrew Exum (@ExumAM) March 18, 2015But Erickson is a Sinner with a Dirty Mind:
.@EWErickson blast Walker for digital aide's departure http://t.co/ArqlfXvGKF Imagine everyone judged by tweets ... pic.twitter.com/P7Tqst1pDp
— Col. Morris Davis (@ColMorrisDavis) March 18, 2015Jonah Goldberg on National Review
Walker talks a big game about standing up to labor unions and the left — and rightly so. His record as governor is nothing short of heroic. He even suggested that his record of standing up to the left at home suggests the kind of leadership he’d show in the fight against ISIS. He phrased it poorly, but the point he was trying to make was that he can’t be intimidated. Well, maybe. I don’t know Mair very well. But if Erickson is right, and I’d bet he is, then Mair was asked to fall on her sword. Even if she wasn’t asked but volunteered, the point remains that Walker accepted her resignation because a bunch of party apparatchiks in Iowa are terrified of any dissent over their gravy train.
That Drove Iowa Crazy:
In other news, I see Iowa is once again embarrassing itself, and the GOP, this morning. Thanks, guys.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) January 24, 2015The sooner we remove Iowa's frontrunning status, the better off American politics and policy will be.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) January 24, 2015Morons across America are astounded to learn that people from *IOWA* grow up rather government-dependent. #agsubsidies #ethanol #brainless
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) January 22, 2015Post-Firing Tweets:
Now that I'm off payroll, there are a couple things I'd like to say.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 18, 20151. The "morons" I was referring to in that 1 tweet were Ds who were feigning surprise at an Iowa family having benefited from farm subsidies
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 18, 2015I was not calling Iowans morons. And if you read the tweet, and look at the online discussion around the time it was made, that's obvious.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 18, 20152. Obviously, I know when official "ethanol subsidies" ended. But it's a sad commentary on the policy savvy of people covering Iowa...
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 18, 2015The reference to #agsubsidies was very clearly a reference to farm subsidies. Context makes that obvious. #farmsubsidies wouldn't fit in 140
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 18, 2015I do find some of the things Steve King says on immigration embarrassing and factually dubious.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 18, 2015For example, I do not think his 1-100 ratio on DREAMER valedictorians to DREAMER drug mules is mathematically correct.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 18, 2015I also think the fact that King is held out as the only real force in Iowa and representative of what Iowans think is embarassing for Iowa.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 18, 2015I will just finish by saying I think the country needs to have a debate about things like the RFS and farm subsidy reform.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 18, 2015...and I think maybe we should debate whether 1st 4 or 5 primary states should alternate who gets to go 1st.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 18, 2015But I think it's potentially advantageous for the party and the country. Iowa doesn't have great history of picking GOP nominee...
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 18, 2015
