Just as Rush Limbaugh has been labeled the “titular head of the Republican Party,” I have seemingly been labeled the “titular head” of the conservative opinion staff by my colleague, Brennan Breeland.
Mr. Breeland seems concerned that I might be upset due to his quotation of Communist Party Chairman Mao.
As long as he does not share White House Communications Director Anita Dunn’s love of Mao’s political philosophy, I have no problem with the quotation.
However, I do take issue with Mr. Breeland’s assertion that the Republican Party is in danger because of conservative candidates, the success of talk radio, and its lack of liberals.
Essentially, my colleague, along with the Obama Administration, suggests that to be successful, Republicans should act like Democrats.
Why should we think that Democratic strategists desire a successful Republican Party?
Don’t they need Republicans to lose in order to win? In a two party system, this is the way these things work.
Apparently, my colleague has failed to examine Gallop’s latest breakdown of national and partisan ideology.
Forty percent of the electorate is conservative, 35 percent is moderate, and 21 percent is liberal.
Notably, the identification percentage levels for both conservatives and liberals are significantly higher than in the recent past.
The Republican Party is made up of 73 percent conservatives, 24 percent moderates and 3 percent liberals.
In contrast, the Democratic Party is much more divided in its ideological composition of 22 percent conservatives, 40 percent moderates and 38 percent liberals.
What do these numbers tell us?
To begin, it is evident that the United States remains a center-right country.
Given the Republican Party’s tradition of conservatism, it is not surprising that the overwhelming majority of Republicans are conservative.
Understandably, there is also a significant portion of conservative Democrats.
Predictably, a large percentage of Democrats are liberal, and almost no liberals are found among Republicans. Also, moderates make up large portions of each party.
If you haven’t noticed, the composition of each party mirrors almost exactly the ideology of the nation at large.
As far as elections are concerned, it seems Republicans would benefit from conservative to moderate candidates.
On the other hand, Democrats should likely run left-leaning moderates.
We have noticed these numbers and strategy in order to classify Mr. Breeland’s assertion that the Republican Party “continues to weaken and marginalize itself ” as a bit shortsighted.
To a degree, the Republican Party has weakened itself by moving too far to the left.
Before Mr. Breeland sucks all the air out of the room by gasping, let me explain.
It is not outlandish to assume that partisan candidates receive most votes from their party’s base.
Without support of these voters, a candidate would find it difficult to gather enough support to get elected.
This is why the Republican Party made a mistake when it selected Dede Scozzafava to run in the NY-23 special election.
Since both the electorate and the party’s base in the district are largely moderately conservative, it would seem most appropriate to have chosen a right-leaning moderate Republican.
Before you tell me, as many have, that Dede Scozzafava was this moderate candidate, let me inform you.
As an assemblywoman, Scozzafava compiled the second most liberal voting record in the entire state assembly. Only the Democratic speaker possessed a more liberal record.
This doesn’t sound like the moderate about whom I keep hearing. Oddly, the Democrat, Bill Owens, is likely much more conservative than is Scozzafava.
Even though Owens leans left, he probably comes closer to the district’s ideological preference than Scozzafava.
Undeniably, the conservative Doug Hoffman was hurt by having to split votes with Scozzafava.
The Republican Party has not become too conservative.
Its problem has been that it has often infuriated its own base by selecting left of center candidates.
This causes voters to become discouraged or uninterested.
Therefore, many voters hold their noses as they vote, vote for third-party candidates, or don’t vote at all.
Whatever the case, the Republican Party should not take advice from Mr. Breeland and the Obama Administration.
NY-23 aside, Republicans won major victories in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races.
They did this by running candidates who energized both their base and a majority of independents.
Truly, this is the formula for winning elections.
The party isn’t dead. In fact, its future is bright. The party will be successful in the future if it returns to its roots of solutions oriented conservatism.
This is exactly what worked for Christie in New Jersey and McDonnell in Virginia.
The words of President Reagan ring true even today.
The party must continue to “raise a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors, which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people.”
--As Appeared in The Daily Mississippian on Tuesday, November 10, 2009
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