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Can Republicans Pander Their Way Into Leadership?

 The Republican Party has opted to soften its stances and pursue a strategy of "inclusiveness," which in reality represents a shift to the left, and out of the good graces of heartland America.

Never have the stars lined up for Republicans as profoundly as has been the case this year, with the arrogance and ugliness of the Obama, Reid, and Pelosi political juggernaut, and the threat it poses to the future of this country, on full display. But rather than seizing the moment and restoring the strength of political conservatism, too many among the GOP "inner circle" seem content to remain scavenging on the fringes of the liberal agenda.

The 2010 mid-term congressional races could easily become a rout of the Left, with heartland America energized and active as it has not been in nearly two decades. According to current trends and polling data, next year's races are nearly guaranteed to go decidedly to the Right. Unfortunately, the Republican Party has opted to soften its stances and pursue a strategy of "inclusiveness," which in reality represents a shift to the Left, and out of the good graces of heartland America. Nowhere is this travesty more flagrantly on display than in the upcoming New York District 23 special election.

Overwhelmingly rural, House District 23 barely went for Obama in last year's election. And as was the case throughout the nation, the Democrat ticket was helped immeasurably by the insipidness of the McCain campaign. Clearly, this district is not a "lock" for the Democrats. Yet, when selecting a Republican nominee in the upcoming election its Republican Party apparatus sought to  "lead" by following, and chose the extremely liberal Republican Assembly Woman Dierdre Scozzafava. On most issues, she is at least as far left as Bill Owens, the Democrat.

Worse yet, notable figures within Republican circles, such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and current House Minority Leader John Boehner, are endorsing the Scozzafava candidacy purely on the basis that she calls herself "Republican." From their perspective, giving the seat to someone who holds that title is somehow superior to allowing it to go to a Democrat. Yet recent history paints a starkly different picture.

In Pennsylvania in 2004, then "Republican" Senator Arlen Specter faced a stiff primary challenge from Congressman Pat Toomey. Believing that Specter would somehow help garner Pennsylvania for George W. Bush in his re-election bid that same year, the President made over two dozen campaign appearances on behalf of Specter. Clearly, this boosted Specter's political fortunes and helped him win a razor thin victory over Toomey, whereupon he immediately turned on Bush and the GOP, siding with Democrats in several key votes. Ultimately, in the wake of the 2008 Obama victory, Specter came out of the closet and declared what honest observers knew all along, that he was indeed a Democrat.

Is this the great Republican strategy to turn the country back from its current downfall? Do Republican "leaders" really believe that the outrage from middle America over the thuggish nationalization of industry, banking, and possibly the healthcare field by Obama and his minions can be channeled into a boost for the candidacy of a "me too" liberal Republican like Scozzafava?

At least when the Trojans of yore brought that confounded wooden horse into their midst, they did so in total ignorance of the danger it represented. It would have been beyond credible, even in a fable, to contend that they might have still accepted it, knowing its sinister contents, under the absurd auspices that doing so would ensure a greater number of warriors to fight the impending battle against the Greeks. Yet that is precisely the mentality of those who claim an allegiance to conservatism while supporting the likes of Scozzafava.

Fortunately, conservative America has finally had its fill of the empty "RINO" promises. All of the stirring rhetoric of a well-crafted party platform is absolutely meaningless if the party proceeds to accept and even embrace a liberal agenda. While some true conservatives are still working within the GOP in an effort to regain control of it from its liberal captors, others are working outside the party to jolt it with a dose of reality, and hopefully gain the attention of its myopic upper echelon.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, making good on her promise to continue the political fight from outside of public office, has endorsed the candidacy of Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate. In this she is joined by former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey and former Senator Rick Santorum, along with an enormous and extremely energized contingent from grassroots America.

Few on the political "inside" appear to have any comprehension of just how much is at stake in the District 23 race. If Scozzafava somehow manages to win, she will be heralded as the embodiment of what the Republican Party needs to become in order to regain majority status in the Congress and Senate. Consequently, any Republicans running to the right of Scozzafava in subsequent races would invariably be marginalized on the nightly news and among the party liberals as being "out of the mainstream," thus giving all Republicans an enormous obstacle to overcome in their electoral pursuits.

Yet nothing could be farther from the truth. The political ground occupied by Scozzafava is exactly what destroyed GOP momentum in the last decade, and what ultimately cost it in 2006 and 2008. Conservatives know this, and so do the liberals. Only the Republican "insiders" remain oblivious.

From as far back as the Nixon Administration, Republican political fortunes have risen and fallen in direct correlation to the party's embrace or abandonment of conservative principle. Things are no different this year, despite the stunning successes of the Obama machine in 2008. Disillusionment with the current Administration, by itself, is not sufficient to bolster Republican popularity with voters. Only a real conservative opposition will properly address the outrage and energy of traditional America and, with the promise of a real reversal of the present destructive and unconstitutional liberal agenda, rally the conservative grassroots to victory in 2010.

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7 comments to Can Republicans Pander Their Way Into Leadership?

  • Should Scozzafava win, you can count it a sure bet that her first vote will be in favor of Pelosi for Speaker. Steele, Gingrich and Co. will be left scratching their heads while the rest of us will say “Told you so.”

  • Patrick Mulligan

    This a classic case of the pragmatism versus principle debate that is had routinely on this website. Our resident pragmatist Dr. Phil Jackson would undoubtedly say “Scozzafava won the primary, so suck it up and vote for her. She’ll add to the Republican ranks and allow us to set the legislative agenda”. I would favor that sort of pragmatism under the following conditions: A) Republicans were defending a slim majority instead of trying to regain from a minority position, and B) if the conservative wing of the party were actually the ones who set the legislative agenda once a majority was in place. Unfortunately, the likes of Scozzafava invariably end up in prominent positions within the Republican party and proceed to sit on influential committees and leadership positions once a majority is established. In a Democrat party majority, no one worries that someone like, say, Zell Miller will take the helm. But in a Republican party majority, it is a very real possibility that someone like Scozzafava will end up in the party leadership.

  • Patrick — Scozzafava didn’t win the primary. There was no primary.

    If Hoffman had run in the Republican primary and lost to Scozzafava, then it’s suck it up time. Scozzafava’s primary victory would have indicated that it’s not a conservative district, so we’re better off with a Republican (even a liberal one) rather than Democrat seat to get rid of Pelosi as Speaker.

    Since the Republican voters have not been permitted to chose their candidate, then Hoffman is a legitimate contender (who will, by the way, ally with the Republicans once elected.) He’s the only conservative in the race, so he’s not taking votes away from another conservative Republican candidate.

    Context matters. I’ve got an article coming out about this, so I’ll defer any future comments to that venue.

  • Patrick Mulligan

    Phil,

    You’re right – I did forget that detail. Also, I didn’t mean to put words in your mouth, so I apologize if I was over-simplifying your position. I’ll be looking forward to the article – I’m sure it will produce some rousing commentary as usual.

  • Patrick Mulligan

    Well, it looks like this controversy has officially dried up – Scozzafava has officially pulled out of the race. Now it’ll be interesting to see how the GOP maneuvers politically.

  • Bill Wavering

    I agree there is a battle over the soul of the republican party. There is a faction, which seems to include the head orfthe RNC, that believes that republicans must move to the left to win consistently. My response is; “What good is winning an election if you have to sell out your convictions?” You either have to govern as you campaigned, or you risk becoming a single term politician as your constituents discover you’ve snookerd them and you don’t represent what they trusted you to represent.

    Aother observation: A majority of the country defines themselves as conservative. I’ve found this out as I’ve been holding campaign coffees in support of my run for JP. I’ll have a person ask me what banner I’m running under and when I say republican, I’ll get some who will respond with; “I just can’t vote for a republican.”

    If you engage them in some further conversation on general issues (by this I mean issues that a JP would almost never have any influence over) like abortion, gun control, and education; you invariably find common ground. From there it is only a small step to get them to vote the man as opposed to the party. THe arguement is; “If we agree on these national issues, I believe that we’ll agree on many local issues as well.”

    Conservatism works every time it’s tried.

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