Republican Primary Party Poopers

By Bradley Blakeman
FOXNews.com

There is no doubt that a small number of high profile Republican 2010 primary candidates are sore losers and Republican Party poopers.

When someone makes a decision to throw their hat in the ring and align themselves with a political party, they owe it to that party and its members to abide by the rules and protocols of the party -- win or lose.

Somehow the rules and protocols were fine when these candidates were winning, however, when they lose, all of a sudden there is no Party and there are no rules that apply to them.

As part of the Party process, Republicans must select their candidates in primaries before the people in a general election elect them to office. Even Republican candidates who may be the "choice" of a Party convention may still be subject to primary challenge by other Republicans.

Let's look at some Republican sore losers who either got beaten as Republican candidates by Republican voters this primary season or deserted the Party but stayed in their races:

Florida: Sitting Republican Governor Charlie Crist has a long history of being elected as a Republican to various offices in Florida.

- He first ran as a Republican in 1986 when he ran for state senate. He lost the Republican primary and supported his Republican challenger.

- In 1992 he ran again for the Florida Senate as a Republican and won.

- Thereafter in 1998 he ran as a Republican for U.S. Senate and lost to incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Graham.

- In 2000 he was elected Education Commissioner of Florida as a Republican.

- In 2002, Crist was elected Attorney General of Florida as a Republican.

- In 2006 he was elected Florida's governor as a Republican.

- In 2008 Gov. Crist was a delegate and lead the Florida State Delegation to the Republican National Convention.

- In 2008, Gov. Crist hosted the Republican Governors Association at their annual meeting in Miami.

- In May of 2009, Governor Crist announced that he would not run for re-election as governor but would instead seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. He knew at the time he made that announcement
that Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio -- who was also a Republican -- would challenge him for the Republican nomination.

All was well while Crist was in the lead in the Republican primary. Then there came a time in the spring of 2010 when Rubio pulled ahead of Crist by 20 points.

- On May 13, 2010, Crist withdrew from the Republican primary and officially changed his registration to "non-party affiliated."

Now Crist has turned his back on the very party that created all the opportunity he has had in his political career. Did he bolt the Republican Party over a disagreement on policy? No! He bolted the party because it no longer served his selfish self-interest.

Alaska: Sitting U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, who is a Republican who represents Alasaka is much like Gov.Crist. She has a long and deep history with the Republican Party.

Murkowski comes from a well-established Alaska Republican family. Her father Frank Murkowski, was a
U.S. Senator and governor from Alaska.

- In 1998 Lisa Murkowski started her political career as a Republican running for the Alaska House of
Representatives and won.

- In 2000 she was elected again to the Alaska House of Representatives as a Republican.

- In 2002 her father, the Republican governor of Alaska, appointed her to fill the U.S. Senate seat he vacated to when he became governor.

- In 2004 she was elected as a Republican to a full six-year Senate term.

This year Lisa Murkowski faced what she thought would be an easy Republican primary challenge from a little-known former U.S. Alaskan Magistrate Joe Miller. Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, a bitter political enemy of the Murkowski family, backed Miller. The primary election was contentious and close.

In the end after all the ballots were counted, Murkowski lost the Republican U.S. Senate Alaska Primary.

After promising to abide by the results of the election she recently decided to run as a write-in candidate.

She knows she cannot win and can only act as a spoiler to deny the Republican choice for U.S. Senate in Alaska the opportunity to win the general election.

Pennsylvania: And let's not forget Former Republican U.S. Senator Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania who made defection and disloyalty popular this election cycle.

- In 2009 after 44 years as a Republican he deserted the party when it became quite apparent that he could not possibly win the Republican state nomination for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania.

So, in 2009 he became a Democrat and went on to lose the Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate in 2010.

Membership in any political party requires that its members, candidates and officials to have a higher degree of responsibility and loyalty than mere supporters. They should be held to high standards, loyalty, dedication and support of the party.

Being a member of a party, a candidate or a representative of a party requires one to put the party above their own ambitions and self-interest. Candidates must stay true to a Party's platform, rules,
regulations and protocols to enable the party to perpetuate its goals and objectives over time.

Any person who uses a party for their own selfish purposes deserves to lose.

When a candidate puts themselves above the party, they put themselves above the people. The politicians I cite here have exhibited arrogance and a sense of entitlement that is quite sad and desperate. For them, power has become as addictive as the most powerful drug. For these pitiful souls, power has become a debilitating habit that is hard to kick especially when their "pusher," aka We the People has cut them off cold turkey.

In the end no one -- Republican, Democrat, or Independent likes a sore loser or party pooper.

Government service is an opportunity given by the people -- not an entitlement demanded by the politician.

Bradley A. Blakeman served as deputy assistant to President George W. Bush from 2001-04. He is currently a professor of Politics and Public Policy at Georgetown University and a frequent contributor to Fox News Opinion.