The American Spectator

E.J. Dionne is out today with a predictable column arguing that the GOP needs to find its center. He opens with this:

Yes, Nixon did back off from Goldwater-type conservatism, and he won two elections—but his presidency also ended in failure and it was only until Reagan returned the GOP to Goldwater’s limited government Republicanism that the party regained power—and Reagan ended up being one of the most successful presidents in American history (even a liberal who scoffs at such a comment would at least grant that he was more successful than Nixon). The point is that Reagan didn’t just win elections, he left a legacy that inspired a generation of conservatives.

Dionne argues:

This is preposterous. During the Bush administration, the Republican Party has gone out of its way to “use government for practical ends” and embrace “solution-oriented politics” while running away from its small government roots—as evidenced, most prominently, by the Medicare prescription drug plan and No Child Left Behind.

Dionne ends the piece by arguing that the GOP should learn from Bill Clinton, but the party has been triangulating for six years, and it has nothing to show for it. If anything, Dionne’s own column demonstrates that it’s futile for the GOP to embrace big government solutions to the nation’s problems—because no matter what the party does to “moderate,” liberals will never like them.