Alexander called a RINO for purchasing an electric car

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

So I was looking at my Facebook feed and saw that the Tennessee Republican Party posted a press release from Lamar Alexander announcing that he bought a Nissan LEAF electric car.  (TRP posts almost every PR from our federal delegation).

Alexander is buying a car, with his own money, that is made in Tennessee by Tennesseans, which is fueled indirectly from West Virginia rather than directly from Libya and Venezeula.  Senator Frist also purchased a LEAF a few days ago and has been posting his positive experiences.

My reaction: "Cool. Wish I could afford one, but I'm glad he got one"

Unfortunately many of my fellow Republicans posted comments calling Alexander a RINO for purchasing such a vehicle. (See below).  Have we as Republicans sunk so far to the lowest common denominator of populism that we negatively judge people for purchasing a car that doesn't use the almighty gasoline.  What is so damn "conservative" about oil, and why must we enslave ourselves to it?  Should Lamar have purchased a 90's era Hummer with a gas leak instead?
_________________

Press Releases - Press Room - U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander
ALCOA, Tenn. – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today took delivery of the Nissan LEAF he is leasing from Alcoa’s Twin City Nissan, saying, “Plugging in my new LEAF will give me the patriotic pleasure of not sending money overseas to people who are trying to blow us up.”
5 hours ago · Unlike ·  · Share
You and 10 others like this.

COMMENTS:

Guy Land Lamar Alexander is a green squish... news at 11.
5 hours ago · Like ·  1 person

Valerie Sechler Morris This is newsworthy?
5 hours ago · Like

Valerie Sechler Morris I would be more impressed if Sen. Alexander was putting pressure on the Obama administration to sign the oil leases and other measures to open up our own resources...Instead we get a fluff story like this? Not to mention that not too many people could afford to go out and purchase a Leaf in this current economy. Chairman Devaney get out front..grow a backbone and show some leadership instead of promoting fluff stories. This does nothing for the average Tennessean!
5 hours ago · Like ·  3 people

Mark Winslow What she said.
4 hours ago · Like

Jeff Short I voted for Lamar last time, but I have written him on conservative issues and he will not write you back unlike Sen. Corker our other Senator in TN. Lamar is a RINO, Corker so far I believe is the real deal. Lamar is trying to impress the tree huggers and that doesn't impress me.
4 hours ago · Like ·  1 person

Elaine Amor Sure he can afford to go out and buy one. How many of these unemployed workers who are payng 3.45 a gal. for gas can even afford to go look for work let alone go buy a new Nissan LEAR? Come on Lamar get real!
4 hours ago · Like ·  1 person

Donna FitzGerald David Hmmmm... not many starving children living in broke down cars are jumping for joy. Maybe you should ask their unemployed parents how they feel...
3 hours ago · Like

Jack Martin Smith That car will be like my treadmill dusty and stuff piled up on top of it!
about an hour ago · Like

Frances Arthur I agree with Mark. What Valerie said...You go girl! These RINO's are just killing me.
49 minutes ago · Like

[LBJ Revivalist]

So I was looking at my Facebook feed and saw that the Tennessee Republican Party posted a press release from Lamar Alexander announcing that he bought a Nissan LEAF electric car.  (TRP posts almost every PR from our federal delegation).

Alexander is buying a car, with his own money, that is made in Tennessee by Tennesseans, which is fueled indirectly from West Virginia rather than directly from Libya and Venezeula.  Senator Frist also purchased a LEAF a few days ago and has been posting his positive experiences.

My reaction: "Cool. Wish I could afford one, but I'm glad he got one"

Unfortunately many of my fellow Republicans posted comments calling Alexander a RINO for purchasing such a vehicle. (See below).  Have we as Republicans sunk so far to the lowest common denominator of populism that we negatively judge people for purchasing a car that doesn't use the almighty gasoline.  What is so damn "conservative" about oil, and why must we enslave ourselves to it?  Should Lamar have purchased a 90's era Hummer with a gas leak instead?
_________________

Press Releases - Press Room - U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander
ALCOA, Tenn. – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today took delivery of the Nissan LEAF he is leasing from Alcoa’s Twin City Nissan, saying, “Plugging in my new LEAF will give me the patriotic pleasure of not sending money overseas to people who are trying to blow us up.”
5 hours ago · Unlike ·  · Share
You and 10 others like this.

COMMENTS:

Guy Land Lamar Alexander is a green squish... news at 11.
5 hours ago · Like ·  1 person

Valerie Sechler Morris This is newsworthy?
5 hours ago · Like

Valerie Sechler Morris I would be more impressed if Sen. Alexander was putting pressure on the Obama administration to sign the oil leases and other measures to open up our own resources...Instead we get a fluff story like this? Not to mention that not too many people could afford to go out and purchase a Leaf in this current economy. Chairman Devaney get out front..grow a backbone and show some leadership instead of promoting fluff stories. This does nothing for the average Tennessean!
5 hours ago · Like ·  3 people

Mark Winslow What she said.
4 hours ago · Like

Jeff Short I voted for Lamar last time, but I have written him on conservative issues and he will not write you back unlike Sen. Corker our other Senator in TN. Lamar is a RINO, Corker so far I believe is the real deal. Lamar is trying to impress the tree huggers and that doesn't impress me.
4 hours ago · Like ·  1 person

Elaine Amor Sure he can afford to go out and buy one. How many of these unemployed workers who are payng 3.45 a gal. for gas can even afford to go look for work let alone go buy a new Nissan LEAR? Come on Lamar get real!
4 hours ago · Like ·  1 person

Donna FitzGerald David Hmmmm... not many starving children living in broke down cars are jumping for joy. Maybe you should ask their unemployed parents how they feel...
3 hours ago · Like

Jack Martin Smith That car will be like my treadmill dusty and stuff piled up on top of it!
about an hour ago · Like

Frances Arthur I agree with Mark. What Valerie said...You go girl! These RINO's are just killing me.
49 minutes ago · Like

Listen, Commie, this is Jesus' own country. You want electric cars? Go to Canada, you commie hippie atheist!

[Ban my account ffs!]

Most of the comments seemed to be envious of his purchase... complaining about the purchase of this car being paraded out in a press release while "children are starving whose parents can't even afford to look for work with expensive gas."

I think you took the intent of the comments out of context... though that Jeff Short guy seems like a total idiot (but again.. he called Alexander a RINO because he won't write back about 'conservative issues'.  It apparently isn't all about the Leaf.)

[Stranger in a strange land]

Most of the comments seemed to be envious of his purchase... complaining about the purchase of this car being paraded out in a press release while "children are starving whose parents can't even afford to look for work with expensive gas."

*facepalm*

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

This is one thing that's always annoyed me about Republicans.  It's one thing to oppose government spending to push green energy and electric cars, but if somebody wants to spend their own money on it, that's great.  The GOP emphasizes the importance of this stuff being brought up in the private sector without government intervention... what do you think this is?

Good for him.  I support what he did.

[minionofmidas]

What is so damn "conservative" about oil, and why must we enslave ourselves to it? 

Slavery is a conservative value.

[Zarn]

What is so damn "conservative" about oil, and why must we enslave ourselves to it? 

Slavery is a conservative value.

That explains Lincoln and the Union generals.

[Landslide Lyndon]

What is so damn "conservative" about oil, and why must we enslave ourselves to it? 

Slavery is a conservative value.

That explains Lincoln and the Union generals.

Lincoln was a well known socialist.

[Marokai Backbeat]

What is so damn "conservative" about oil, and why must we enslave ourselves to it? 

Slavery is a conservative value.

That explains Lincoln and the Union generals.

Ending slavery was not a "conservative" (that word in this issue is almost completely stupid to use, but since we're forced to, let's just use it as meaning "right-wing") position, regardless of what Lincoln was. End of story.

[Mechaman]

What is so damn "conservative" about oil, and why must we enslave ourselves to it? 

Slavery is a conservative value.

That explains Lincoln and the Union generals.

Lincoln was a well known socialist.

Okay what?
I can agree that Lincoln probably wouldn't be conservative but a socialist?  If Lincoln was a socialist that means that a lot of the Republican party would've been borderline Marxist (Lincoln was widely considered to be a "moderate Republican", at least that's what I keep hearing).
Just saying.

[minionofmidas]

Lincoln was not a moderate Republican. He was certainly one of the most radical Conscience Whigs in Congress during his single term there in the 1840s, though the goalposts had of course moved a lot between then and 1860.

[Torie]

Isn't it nice that your own personal consumption choices are now politicized -not?  Too many folks have too much time on their hands, and need to mind their own business. JMO.

[tpfkaw]

If people here think that Abraham Lincoln is a "socialist," they better not take offense at my calling Barack Obama one.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

What is so damn "conservative" about oil, and why must we enslave ourselves to it? 

Slavery is a conservative value.

That explains Lincoln and the Union generals.

Lincoln was a well known socialist.

wow, you were buying into Democrat propoganda even back then?

[Mechaman]

Lincoln was not a moderate Republican. He was certainly one of the most radical Conscience Whigs in Congress during his single term there in the 1840s, though the goalposts had of course moved a lot between then and 1860.

As the leader of the moderate faction of the Republican party, Lincoln came under attack from all sides.

My bad, Lincoln wasn't a moderate Republican, he was THE moderate Republican

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

ZOMGZ SOCIALIST-LIBERAL-HIBERNO-ELECTRIC CAR CONSPIRACY!11 PRIMARY THAT DAMN RINO IN 2012!!!!111

[danny]

It seems like this is just a Pavlovian response. They don't have a real reason to be against this they just know that liberals support electric cars so they think need to be against it.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Dudes.

I WAS JOKING!!!

Seriously, wtf with you?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

it's not as though hacks on both the left and right haven't made this assertion




as to Alexander's car, perhaps he is trying to support the coal industry?

[angus]

Senator Frist also purchased a LEAF a few days ago and has been posting his positive experiences.

He's a fcuking RINO too.

[Mechaman]

ZOMGZ SOCIALIST-LIBERAL-HIBERNO-ELECTRIC CAR CONSPIRACY!11 PRIMARY THAT DAMN RINO IN 2012!!!!111

Yeah it's totally all a part of the conspiracy propagated by the  social democratic laissez faire Irish electric car companies brought on by those darned Retards In Name Only.  We should boot all but the most pure and real retards in 2012.

[milhouse24]

Why didn't he buy an American car like the Volt?

To think this man could have been president

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Why didn't he buy an American car like the Volt?

Because Nissan has a car plant in his state of Tennessee which is scheduled to start producing Leafs of its own in 2012.  I don't think Alexander is worrying about running for president again, and was thinking more about supporting a business that employs Tennessee voters.

[Mechaman]

Why didn't he buy an American car like the Volt?

Because Nissan has a car plant in his state of Tennessee which is scheduled to start producing Leafs of its own in 2012.  I don't think Alexander is worrying about running for president again, and was thinking more about supporting a business that employs Tennessee voters.

And because when it comes to buying cars most people think about more than petty nationalism.

[milhouse24]

Why didn't he buy an American car like the Volt?

Because Nissan has a car plant in his state of Tennessee which is scheduled to start producing Leafs of its own in 2012.  I don't think Alexander is worrying about running for president again, and was thinking more about supporting a business that employs Tennessee voters.

And because when it comes to buying cars most people think about more than petty nationalism.

Because its so awesome when american companies go out of business?  what does Obama drive, a lexus or mercedes?