Free Republic

Amidst the fallout from the special election, there is a renewed discussion about governing from the Center. It is a mantra championed by many a consultant and some “moderates” – in both the Democrat and Republican Parties - that claim you have to be a centrist/moderate to win/succeed in California. Simply stated, that simply isn’t true. It is not true because in order to succeed, politicians must be well defined to attract voters because the “very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet.” Put another way, voters generally do not elect...

During the California recall election, when my then-WND colleague Hugh Hewitt was in the forefront of leading a merry band of Republican optimists to reject Tom McClintock – a genuine conservative – in favor of a man much esteemed by the Kennedy family, I wrote a column titled "Satanic Schwarzeneggerians," in which I encouraged eschewing the sacrifice of principle in favor of the "pragmatic" pursuit of power. Now, I quite like Arnold as an action hero, and would consider it an honor to lift weights with the legendary body builder. But there are decent and even delightful individuals in every...