Talking to Moderates
November 3, 2009 6 Comments
So I’m seeing a LOT of ‘moderate’ Republicans complaining to the Heavens today about the way that poor Dede Scozzafava was driven out of the NY congressional race. Disingenious liberals are tut-tutting them and not-so-subtlely suggesting they tack just a little farther to the Left and jump ship a la Arlen Specter. A lot of ‘moderates’ are considering it and frankly, I’m happy if they go.
Longtime readers know I am not an ideological purist when it comes to the Republican party. I’m a conservative on about 90% of the issues, so it’s easy for me to say that, but I’m also pragmatic enough to know that we need all the votes we can get. My position has always been, if you want to caucus with us on gun rights or low taxes or national defense, we’d love to have you, but if you want us to return the favor by becoming pro-choice and marching for gay marriage…umm, you’re probably wasting your time. Politics does not have to be a reciprocal relationship and I don’t agree that it’s even good strategy to imply you will scratch their backs when the voting is done.
As I’ve stated many, many times, most of the folks that call themselves ‘moderates’ right now are just run-of-the-mill social liberals. In more civilized times they proudly called themselves New England or Rockefeller Republicans. Now they hide behind the ‘moderate’ label in exactly the same way that liberals hide behind ‘progressive’. This is a terrible injustice because it tarnishes the real moderates, like John McCain and Lindsay Graham. it also exposes their strategy which is not to co-exist where possible but to try and drag the GOP in their direction so they fit in better.
So here’s the deal guys: If you want to stay, stay. Accept that we aren’t heading in your direction and you are not the path to the mythical Center. Sometimes we agree with you and sometimes you look a lot more like Democrats than Republicans. For whatever reason, you want to have an (R) after your name. So great. That means be a dependable voter for our side and don’t threaten to jump ship like spoiled teenagers when we fight hard for a more conservative candidate than the social liberal you prefer. That’s what election politics are about, getting the candidate that best represents you on the ballot. It may not be fair but there are a lot more of us conservatives in the GOP than you ‘moderates’. In a democracy that usually means we win.
Be honest. Did you really have a straight face when you wrote this:
“That means be a dependable voter for our side and don’t threaten to jump ship like spoiled teenagers when we fight hard for a more conservative candidate than the social liberal you prefer. ”
After what just happened in NY-23? Really??
Absolutely. What happened in NY? Conservatives got more motivated and outspent the moderates that supported Scozzafava. They didn’t do anything illegal. The problem for moderates is that when voters are presented with a liberal, a near-liberal and a conservative…well, there’s no real need for the moderate in the contest. Voters want clear choices, not some muddled gray liberal-lite.
Don’t get your hopes up too high Mike. Party shifts and changes can usually take up to a decade. In fact, the party may very well get smaller and more conservative, and it could win back congress in 2010, but in comparison it’s like the dems back when Reagan was in office and they thought they just needed to go further right. They ended up after a decade realizing that they needed to go centrist. It just takes a while for the party to realize these things, and I have patience.
No, we centrist republicans won’t leave our own home so easily to the far-right impostors of republicanism. And maybe, maybe just like how the dems went further left in the 80′s until they realized that isn’t going to get them anywhere, maybe going further right for the party will eventually lead to the same conclusion. We’ll stay : )
And…with the conservative party losing, it just shows how conservatives with this attitude of “centrists can stay, but be quiet and be good soldiers” has once again shown its failure. Run against centrists, oust them, then lose the election. The victors in NJ and Virginia didn’t run on some extreme conservative message, they ran on governance competency and jobs, not exactly hard-core tea party conservative kinds. But the big news on this subject is the conservative ouster of moderate republicans, and then despite their fervor, they lose. It’s happened before.
Mike,
Like you I relish the day when we as voters have true choices between the Left and the Right in our politics again. And, like you, I think those in the middle (whether RINO’s or DINO’s) need to be more honest about why they have chosen the party they have if they don’t fully agree with that Party’s politics.
That said, Martin is right – Republicans tried the strict conservative litmus test in 2008 and lost House seats. Now they’ve done it again, but in an equally cowardly fashion. Instead of running Mr. Hoffman as a Republican, and making sure he got the nod in the party primary, they allowed Ms. Scozziafava (already a Republican politician) to have th Party’s mantle, and then essentially eviscerated her campaign by putting their money into the Constitution Party candidate Mr. Hoffmann. Sure, its not illegal, and yes, rank and file Democrats will likely have to do something similar to unseat the Blue Dogs that have become the bane of our Party in 2010. But it’s 1) not very fair to those politicians with higher aspirations who are ALREADY Republicans, and 2) make sthe Republican Party look weak because it can’t keep its house in order.
Martin / Phillip,
I’m not proposing we run a bunch of Tea Party folks in opposition to centrist/moderate/liberal Republicans. I’m suggesting we run basic mainline conservatives. I still believe the GOP is a conservative party and I think voters want to see that. I don’t think they want liberals verses near-liberals. So the NY race, while a good sign that the base is getting motivated, is certainly not the template I would follow. What I will say is that we need stronger primary challenges when candidates like Scozzafava run. We need to clearly contrast her brand of squishy, near-liberal centrism with solid, mainline conservatism. Give voters that choice and I predict that we will see few of these so-called moderates make it to general elections.
Martin,
I continue to believe that you confuse Independents with the Center. Yesterday’s exit polling shows that a large chunk of Obama’s voters swung over to the GOP side. That’s not because they are Centrists, it’s because they are fickle Independents. Right now they want economic improvements and jobs. They are not interested in the health care debate. They aren’t interested in cap & trade. But next year they may have a whole new set of issues that are driving them. THAT is why they are so unpredictable and why you cannot build a party from the Center.