Posted on 11/07/2008 7:55:33 PM PST by reaganaut1
Based on the exit polls from 2004 and Tuesday, Republicans have lost more ground among self-described moderates than among conservatives. Even if Senator McCain had won the same percentage of conservatives that President Bush did in 2004, he would not have won. Moving right will work only if moderates are given a reason to move right too.
The way to court these moderates is not to abandon social conservatism, which would alienate many of the voters Republicans still have. The party needs to “move to the middle” less than it needs to move to the middle class: to go back to representing the interests of voters in the middle of the income spectrum.
John McCain and movement conservatives, so often at odds, have been complicit in neglecting these voters. He somehow believed that he could win a presidential election without a coherent middle-class economic agenda, and conservatives never thought to demand one from him.
Yes, Mr. McCain’s plans would have cut taxes more than Mr. Obama’s for a lot of middle-class families, but Republicans rarely bothered to point that out. Mr. McCain’s campaign smartly promised to double the tax exemption for children, but the candidate seemed unfamiliar with the idea, repeatedly describing it incorrectly. Likewise, he had an innovative health care plan, but he rarely explained how it would help the average voter.
For much of the year Senator McCain’s central economic message was that he would restrain federal spending, especially earmarks. At no point did Republicans suggest how these policies would lead to any tangible improvements for average Americans.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I’m so glad the Slimes is ready to help us out. LOL
The author of the piece works for National Review. I would not dismiss it so easily.
McCain lost because true conservatives stayed home, not because we didn’t get enough moderates.
They have one assumption wrong. The percent of Conservatives staying the same is only relevant if same number of Conservatives vote.
Dave Ramsey uses an analogy for those who refuse to consider some outside advice. The dirty diaper analogy.
It's like a toddler standing in a dirty diaper. It's heavy. It stinks. It's messy. But it's theirs.
Actually, it seems like pretty good advice. Reagan didn’t win by moving to the center. He moved the center to the right.
McCain just wasn’t up to the task. He’s more articulate than Bush, but it’s hard to sell something (small government, social conservatism, and individual liberty) when you don’t believe in it yourself.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
The middle of the road means roadkill and collateral damage.
He lost because he didn’t energize the base. The base still voted for him yes but that’s not the point. When you energize the base, moderates will be drawn in. For example, Obama was the most liberal senator and he energized the base like the move-on and dailykos crowd. They stirred up all this great enthusiasm around him and the moderates got drawn into the “movement.”
Exactly. Becoming more “moderate” will only lose more conservatives.
I just barely choked back my bile to vote for McCain. I seriously considered watching tv instead but ended up wandering down to vote in the afternoon. I was literally the only voter there at 2PM in this tiny conservative town.
Ahh..the NYT, I suppose they have to fill their pages with something now that they have no reason to kick McCain around anymore...
First of all, Free Trade has morphed into “Fear for your job”, second of all, Tax Cuts for the wealthy work well, there are more middle class voters then wealthy ones..ooppss
No one connected the dots on how much additional regulations would hurt small businesses, or how Unionization would crush some small businesses...or how much money additional drilling would save..
McCain only got some traction when he personalized the issues, and even then, he did not really personalize them, Obamao’s hand should have been seen going into everyone’s paycheck, every business owners bottom line, and every gun cabinet in America.
Alas, McCain did not even wish to make an issue out of Joe the Plumber and the idea that we can still dream dreams of betterment in America, even in tough economic times..
very good article, and I agree. Don’t abandon social conservatism, but focus on limited government. Bush and McCain were never limited government guys. A candidate could potentially depart on some limited government principles like Bush’s first platform was, but they cannot abandon it universally like Bush has done. If he had done the education bill and medicaid but retrained other spending, balanced the budget and cut the pork, his presidency would have been a success. Those items had some logic to them...applying accountability to education spending, and completing a missing link in the medicare health system. It was practical, even though many of us might not agree in principle.
That is opposite of what the cracker head at the national review said.
I hate to agree with the Slimes, and whoever wrote this piece will probably get fired for pointing out these facts...but this is right. I never heard much beyond McCain other than "Country First" and "Obama is an inexperienced twit". All good stuff, but not enough.
I must have misread it, because when the article stated Republicans should move toward middle class values, it sounded good to me. Where I come from, middle class values are conservative.
“I hate to agree with the Slimes, and whoever wrote this piece will probably get fired for pointing out these facts...but this is right.”
The author, Ramesh Ponnuru, works for National Review, so he won’t get fired for this column.
No, nothing about values there.
I don't recall Reagan speaking of values, whatever that is in the given context.
Simple...
As did Christopher Buckley...
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