The great economist Thomas Sowell has some advice for squishy Republican moderates that, I believe, applies to their Red Tory cousins north of the border as well:
“Republican moderates warn their fellow Republicans that they need to move away from the Ronald Reagan approach, in order to attract a wider range of voters. But Ronald Reagan won two consecutive landslide elections — and he couldn’t have done that if the only people who voted for him were dedicated conservatives.
What Reagan had was a clear, coherent, and believable message. Even voters who did not agree with him 100 percent could respect that and prefer it to the alternative.
He didn’t have to offer earmarked goodies to each special group, in order to get their votes. Pandering can gain you some votes but lose you many others.”
“Apparently some moderate Republicans don’t realize that you can’t buy your opponents’ assumptions and then try to oppose the conclusions that follow.”
I think squishy RINO’s get their enthusiasm for moderation from mainstream media commentators who are always encouraging Republicans to compromise - because if they don’t (gasp!) they will lose moderate voters to the Democrats, the commentators caution. The question moderate Republicans unceasingly fail to ask is, why should Republicans trust the advice of left-wing columnists? Considering the fact that they are out-of-the-closet Democrat supporters, isn’t their motivation suspect?
And if moderation really was the key to electoral success for Republicans, why was Ronald Reagan so successful? And why did ‘maverick’ John McCain get shellacked in 2008?
Perhaps they don’t give a damn about the Republicans; perhaps they are merely using the powers of suggestion to get the Republicans to hold back when they have the upper hand, so the conservative agenda – which they detest – doesn’t go forward. Hmmm?
To move the discussion north of the border, if moderation is where it’s at for conservatives, how come Mike Harris and Rob Ford were successful in the same electoral area (i.e. Toronto) where Ernie Eves and John Tory got crushed?
Earth to moderate conservatives: it’s best not to take advice from your political enemy.
Personally, I've always preferred knowing what my political representative stands for ... no quibbling, no quavering, just straightforward statements and opinions. I think both Canadians and Americans will jump at the chance to vote for someone like that ... even if they can't agree with everything the candidate says.
Regards.
Posted by: George Smith | March 09, 2011 at 07:32 PM