October 11, 2003

Internal GOP debate.

A conversation is taking place between members of the GOP regarding the California recall election and what it means, as revealed in a NY Times article entitled ‘Republicans Ponder the Center’. At issue is whether Schwarzeneggar’s win indicates a conservative fiscal stance by the GOP should be married to a more moderate social policy stance.

Moderate Republicans argue that the recall election signals an opportunity, in races going forward, to reach out to more of the general public with a less conservative social policy platform. Other Republicans argue the recall race is not a prescription for future races. Stephen Moore, president of the Club for Growth, a conservative group, states: “I don’t think this means that the party nationally should move to the center in any way”. …”The party that has to do some soul-searching right now is the Democratic Party.”

What do you think?

Posted by David R. Remer at October 11, 2003 07:25 PM
Comments
Comment #3354

It had to happen, sooner or later. When power is the raison d’etre, accommodation becomes the order of the day, if only in the election cycle. Then people start to ask the crucial question- do I want to continue to pick the persons who are disingenuous about their politics, or do I want to pick candidates that suit my interests

Combine stepped-on toes, Conservatives seeking a purer brand of the philosophy, swing voters looking for people who aren’t going to turn radical on them, and well-motivated liberals, and add in a strong dash of all the apparent failures of the Conservative line, and you’ve got a recipe for the decline of the Republican party as the dominant political faction.

Course, that’s speculation, but that’s also a matter of how the Democrat’s power declined, only in the opposite direction.

The trick with being willing to sacrifice anything to get power, is that it ultimately deprives one of the ability to make common sense choices, to oppose things. You do whatever hare-brained thing it seems the other successful people are doing.

And ultimately that doesn’t work, because half of what makes those people successful is where their discretion leads them.

Posted by: Steve Daugherty at October 13, 2003 01:03 AM