Running to the Middle Is Foolish
In light of the recent tea parties, running to the center seems like foolish campaign strategy. Michael Barone seems to have reached that conclusion based on his column in the DC Examiner:
So I think Republicans today should be less interested in moving toward the center and more interested in running against the center. Here I mean a different “center”, not a midpoint on an opinion spectrum, but rather the centralized government institutions being created and strengthened every day. This is a center that is taking over functions fulfilled in a decentralized way by private individuals, firms and markets.
This center includes the Treasury, with its $700 billion of TARP funds voted last fall to purchase toxic assets from financial institutions and used instead to quasi-nationalize banks and preserve union benefits for employees and retirees of bankrupt auto companies. It includes the Federal Reserve, which has been vastly increasing the money supply. It includes a federal government whose $787 billion economic stimulus has so far failed to lower the unemployment rate from where the government projected it would be without the stimulus package.
This is smart strategy because Republicans have distanced themselves from the bailouts and ARRA. Republicans have the added advantage of being able to run against DC and California. The message sent to California’s liberal politicians is that Californians are tired of business-as-usual politics and business-as-usual politicians. The afflictions that are poisoning Washington politics are the same afflictions that are currently poisoning California’s politics: a know-it-all attitude and a rejection of setting priorities.
If I were tasked with recruiting candidates for the NRCC and NRSC, I’d be looking specifically for youthful legislators who are articulate, energetic and possess an impeccable fiscal conservative voting record. Anyone that thinks fake conservatism will work when a genuine conservative is running is kidding themselves. (Yes, that’s especially true of the Crist-Rubio race.)
How quickly do you think Floridians’ opinions will change on Crist now that he’s signed a major tax increase? When the fall campaign swings into high gear, how credible will Charlie Crist be in criticizing the Democrats’ spendaholic ways after he campaigned with President Obama for ARRA? Here’s the short answer: Crist won’t have ANY credibility.
Republicans across the nation should campaign against the Democrats’ spendaholic ways. I’ll bet big money that that strategy will be as effective in state legislative races in California, Michigan and Minnesota as it will be in congressional and senate races.
In 2008, business sided with President Obama. I’m betting that that mistake won’t get repeated in 2010, especially after businesses have seen the ruthlessness of the Obama administration. That’s why Mr. Barone’s advice to run against the Treasury Department, TARP and ARRA is right on the mark.
Starting this summer, conservatives need to do the prep work for next year’s elections. That means we must outwork the Democrats in identifying voters that agree with us more than they agree with what’s happening in DC. These elections won’t be won just because we’re right on the issues, though that’s important, too.
We’ll win alot of elections if we stay true to conservatism’s time-tested principles and by outworking people that run on personality instead of principles and priorities. Whether that’ll be enough to retake the majority in the U.S. House is another story but it’s worth a shot.
Technorati Tags: Elections, Marco Rubio, Conservatism, Tea Parties, Fiscal Restraint, Charlie Crist, Liberal, ARRA, , President Obama, TARP, Election 2010
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
June 1st, 2009 at 10:10 am
Absolutely. Don’t try running to the middle because then you might actually win elections.
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:57 am
Really? If this is a middle of the road government, Im sure as hell glad we didn’t lurch to the left last time, Comrad Liem.
June 3rd, 2009 at 12:05 pm
You know you’re old when you still think the Cold War still exists and think that McCarthyism can still work, USN Ret.
Republicans belong to a party of old ideas that young voters will have a hard time relating to and thanks to your last 8 years in power, you’ve allowed us commies to take over the government. Much appreciated, though, so thanks.
June 3rd, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Your absolutely correct.
Thats not what Im saying. Like being psuedo centrist while pretending to be conservative really helped them out last time, didnt it?
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:16 pm
My question to you is, whats so new about the fascist socialism, sinking the country in debt by the trillions, nationalizing the core roots of the economy killing the goose and eating the golden eggs at the same time?
If you think thats middle of the road, or that an over bloated corrupt political machine can run anything as efficiently as free enterprise, or a well (emphasis on well) regulated capitalist system that worked pretty well for the last 100 years or so, please explain.
June 4th, 2009 at 11:56 am
If this so called well-regulated capitalist system that worked pretty well for the last 100 years or so, how do you explain our current financial crisis?
As far as the facts go, the reversal of Glass-Steagall during the Clinton years led to banks being able to leverage their assets from 10 to 1 to 30 to 1 in an unchecked and unregulated financial market of complex credit default swaps that at it’s peak hit $33 trillion during the Bush administration. Both led to massive amounts of profits for the rich, but ultimately led to a financial meltdown of global proportions when all of it was founded on false pretenses of the housing market always going up. So when you mention core roots and golden eggs, what exactly are you referring to? The bottom line is the rich got the rest of us into this mess, and now the government is forced to play its hand.
But maybe your issue is with government interfering in the economy at all? One thing I love about conservatives is how they attempt to explain how the US got out of the Great Depression. “It wasn’t the New Deal, it was WWII. FDR’s socialist policies didn’t work.” you say. But who do you think paid for all those tanks and airplanes? Who do you think drove down unemployment from 30% to 10%? Was it free enterprise or socialist government intervention?
Seriously though, please continue to think you’re right. In the meantime, Obama will continue to move the center further to the left until reality proves him wrong.
June 5th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Just how far do the facts go? Your dancing around quite a few, unfortunately.
Glass-Steagall at one time in its life probably did provide the type of well regulated government that no one who is reasonable would argue with. It was finally put out of its vestigal misery when it interfered with liberal social engineering.
In 1977 Congress passed the Community Reinvestmant Act to address so called discrimination or redlining in making loans to low income and minorities. Then in 1989 they amended the Home Mortgage disclosure to require that banks collect racial data on Mortgage Apps., probably knowing it was a gotcha waiting to happen because while banks were rejecting minority laon applications it wasnt because of race, but because under existing regs, like Glass-Steagall, or what was left of it by then, they simply didnt qualify financially.
Then in 1995, after the repeal of Glass, the wraps were off and Clinton’s Treasury Dept issued new regs tracking loans by neighborhoods as a means of rating the banks performance and approving mergers an expansion. It also encouraged groups like ACORN and other community organizing groups to petition regulators, threaten, even slow or prevent banks from conducting business depending on how and to what extent they were issuing loan to low income applications with bad credit or insufficient income, the sub-prime loans you may recall. In otherwords, the government insisted that banks, particualarly those that had any hopes of expanding their business to make bad loans and abandon traditional underwriting standards.
Prior to that in 1992, Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae were pressured to purchase bundles of these low income/minority loans which were in turn sold off throughout the world in a secondary market, compounding the error of departing even further from sound banking policy. Not only that, teh Clinton Treasury even fed tax money to the banks to encourage even more bad loans.
But no, no, no. This wasnt enough for good liberals like Barney Frank, Chuck Schumer and Chris Dodd who despite warnings of impending disater, fought off attempts to make Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac follow the usual oversight policy.
You also conveniently ignore the open switch that finally derailed this trainwreck of gross government intervention in the market that brought down AIG; the dirivatives, or bonds created to finance these bundles of bad mortgages that were sold and resold worldwide that some estimate at over 850 Trillion of over heated risk.
So when you say the “rich” got us into this, I would hope you include the rich in Congress, like Chris Dodd & Co. that certainly made sure their freindship with mammon was well intact.
Now that the house of cards is fallen, instead of returning to extisting law and allowing the bancrupcy laws and market to self correct, Obama just keeps plowing on compounding the disaster, first by shifting the blame from government to the very industry that was forced into creating the mess, then saddling our great children with trillions of debt.
Like you say, when reality prooves him wrong.
June 5th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
First off, I do include the rich in Congress, Democratic and Republican.
And secondly, to even begin to blame low income/minorities for this mess is such a cop out. Please, tell me how a poor Latino or black family had anything to do with unregulated derivatives, credit default swaps, collatorized debt obligations, AIG’s insurance policies, and general financial sleight of hand. Sure, these poor people should not have signed on to these loans in the first place, but who the hell would give someone with no income hundred thousand dollar loans in the first place? Are you really saying that the government forced businesses to give out loans without income verification and these businesses simply acquiesced and followed orders? Or did they actually make money hand over foot for every loan that was made by repackaging it with thousands of other loans and slapping on a AAA rating?
Allowing the market to self-correct would have taken years, as the banking system would collapse on itself, taking the rest of the economy with it. The Obama administration did what was necessary to stave off greater economic hardship, as was argued. I’m not sure myself if I believe that or not, but the choices were grim either way. Trillions in debt due to urgency or years of lost productivity, record levels of unemployment, and possibility of an end to American economic dominance? I guess we’ll see if Obama made the right call.
And a last note, I’m pretty sure there was such a thing as “discrimination” in 1977. Don’t be an ass.
June 5th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
aH, YOUR WRONG AGAINIA am an ass thank you.
And proud to be a citizen of a great democracy, that allows me, so far at least, the freedom to do what I have to for my livelihood, without a nosey intrusive government intent on dictating how I do it.my telling me what klind of carvdoing my onewthinkiong for m.
By not sitting around worrying about somebody discriminating against me, or waiting for some condecse nding goivernm,ent poobah to .
June 5th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
aH, YOUR WRONG AGAINIA am an ass thank you.
And proud to be a citizen of a great democracy, that allows me, so far at least, the freedom to do what I have to for my livelihood, without a nosey intrusive government intent on dictating how I do it.my telling me what klind of carvdoing my onewthinkiong for m.
By not sitting around worrying about somebody discriminating against me, or waiting for some condecse nding goivernm,ent poobah to .
June 5th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
You got that right! I am an ass.
We obviously disagree on the roll and function of government. I happen to think you are totally ignorant in your ideas because they are so destructive of what makes us the greatest democracy so far, but I also respect your right to be so.
If you can respect mine, no matter how much you may dispise my attitudes, and I know many like you do so with a passion, lets just leave it at that.
Nice chatting with you.
June 5th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Haha, only an ass could be respectful by telling me I’m totally ignorant on my ideas.
But, I get your point. Cheers.
June 5th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
S’OK. I learned it in the Navy. As Patton said to Gen Voroshkov “one bastard to another”.
Sorry about the triple entry - new laptop with sensiktive buttons.