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The Spectacle Blog
It seems to me that David Frum’s argument here shouldn’t be with conservatives. He’s really arguing with the idea of political parties, or at least parties that have sorted ideologically. I’ll be the first to admit that Mike Castle was a better fit for Delaware’s voters than Christine O’Donnell. But let’s face it: many more Republicans broadly share O’Donnell’s views than Castle’s, even in Delaware. Even in states where a large number of GOP elected officials are moderate or liberal, liberal Republicans are not very thick on the ground.
Moreover, independents have played a very big role in this ideological sorting. It was they who elected the Democrats in 2006 and 2008, bouncing many a moderate Republican from office in the process. And they just elected the Republicans this year, bringing in a more conservative Congress and jettisoning many moderate Democrats. Swing voters did not spare Lincoln Chafee or Gene Taylor (or even Chet Edwards, who is actually a centrist).
If small groups of voters are “hijacking” the two parties, it is largely because they are the ones who actually care about what is going on in politics. The moderates largely tune out. If the great American center has been disenfranchised, let’s not ignore the fact that they were complicit in their own disenfranchisement.
View all comments (22) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by W. James Antle, III
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/11/17/why-the-center-doesnt-hold
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Ammo Guy| 11.17.10 @ 12:17PM
On a certain level, we are wasting our time trying to elect senators from states such as Delaware, California, New York, and Washington - we'd be better off reclaiming seats in such states as Virginia (2), Montana (2), Florida (1), the Dakotas (3), Nebraska (1), Ohio (1) and North Carolina (1). Then throw in West Virginia (2) and Colorado (2) for good measure and we've got a decent conservative majority - let's get to work!
Al Adab| 11.17.10 @ 12:30PM
A G you are correct. The potential for gains lies in the heartland and the West. The coasts are long gone. Maybe Californis can be encouraged to seek independence? A cherent strategy is what we need. And BTW, recount Nevada till is comes out right.
Curly Smith| 11.17.10 @ 1:11PM
Actually, Frum's argument is that voters should never have an ideological choice. They may choose communism or socialism but they may not choose freedom, liberty or economic prosperity.
IMO, the reason Delaware's voters didn't go for O'Donnell was (a) the negative press and (b) the Delaware GOP is historically indistinguishable from the Delaware Democratic Party. If you have two candidates who experience says will govern the same then why go for the one with the bad press?
O'Donnell may well have been a poor candidate but who's fault is that? Clearly, it's not the GOP's... because they ran a candidate who's indistinguishable from the Democrat. who would have received bad press, and who would have lost because of (a) and (b) above.
Lord Frum of Foxhall Drive| 11.17.10 @ 1:46PM
I am proud to admit that I am a leader of the vigorous center. Henry Cabot Lodge, Leverett Saltonstall, Jacob Javits, Charles Evans Hughes, Clifford Case, Ed Brooke, Bill Green, Nelson Rockefeller, Alexander Hamilton and, of course, Theodore Roosevelt are my points of light.
My program is both complex and simple. Christianity should be banished from respected discourse. School children should be forced to worship at Darwin's Altar of Truth. Cultural conservatism must be cast into the outer darkness. Taxes must be raised in order to nourish not only government but the American people, who should be tethered to a government run by an educated elite, of which I am pre-eminent. Government expenditures should be increased so that a majority of Americans remain pliable to the interests of the elite. It is vital that the elite have governmental sinecures for not only financial gain but for the accumulation of political power, a power in which the elite will use to benefit all mankind. A policy of constant war should be in order to distract the patriotic masses of Red State America. The Federal Reserve Board and the Presidency should be run along the lines of Hamiltonian centralism.
Sean| 11.17.10 @ 2:00PM
To Frum conservatives are suppose to compromise everything while liberals and moderates don't. I ask Frum what exactly have conservatives ever gained? Is government smaller, are there ever less laws and regulations, does spending ever decrease?
Lord Frum| 11.17.10 @ 2:06PM
We conservatives have achieved POWER with our victories. A smaller government means less POWER. Plus, with the power I have achieved, I have also gained a splendid little estate in upper Washington.
deminohio| 11.17.10 @ 2:22PM
The way I read the political landscape, the Rs have about as much chance of winning an election without the RINOs, as the Ds have of winning without the Reagan Democrats; that is to say, none. The Religious Right + the Tea Party just don't add up to a majority.
Rich Fisher| 11.17.10 @ 3:26PM
You may be right Dem, and I hope you are. Because we don't want or need the RINO's in the Republican Party. So, we'll trade you the RINO's for the Reagan Democrats and we will kick your Ohio butt every time. The Religious Right, whatever that is and I am supposedly one of them, plus the Tea Party plus the Reagan Democrats will steamroll the Liberals and RINO's in 2012. They won't even know what hit them since they live in a world of total denial. To paraphrase John Paul Jones, "we have only begun to fight".
deminohio| 11.17.10 @ 5:16PM
You sound just like the mirror image of some lefty Dem sneering about hoe Joe Sixpack is too racist, sexist and altogether uncouth for membership in the Democratic Party:)
Agreed that Reagan Dems are perhaps _the_ swing constituency, but you've got to bear in mind the tensions between their (and Big Business's) Big Government Conservatism and the Tea Party's brand of austerity. It'll be interesting to to see if the coalition holds.
I still find the hysteria over RINOs to be disconcerting. Do contemporary Republicans lack any historical perspective? The Tea Party contemplates a world where Bob Dole, to say nothing of Goldwater, Nixon, and Reagan, is not a "real" Republican. I can't see that as the route to success.
Margie| 11.17.10 @ 5:59PM
Hey Rich Fisher, I like that!
deminohio,
Some people try and sort of claim the TEA party for themselves, for example the Ron Paul crowd. But in reality the TEA party is made up of ALL Americans who are fed up with the government these days and are waking up to the Socialism being imposed upon them and rebelling against it by voting for conservatives, and in the Republican party.
So I say it is a small group of people who say that so-and-so's aren't real Republicans. Emmett Tyrrell just wrote an article here about this very subject recently.
Americans are fed up, and that includes just about everyone. And we (meaning conservative Republicans) welcome them!
Occam's Tool| 11.17.10 @ 6:53PM
As usual, Margie, you are magnificent. You are always a wonder and a pleasure to read. Lower financial outlay and input in government, blow up bad guys. Yup. That's the government I want.
Name one masterpiece for the ages created by a National Endowment for the Arts grant. The most famous pieces these clowns have endowed are Maplethorpe's. And that's just one example of government waste.
Margie| 11.17.10 @ 9:07PM
Thanks, OT. it gets lonely sometimes, especially because a certain someone has posted things in my name and has turned many against me, by writing anti-Catholic statements immediately following my posts. I just found one today as I was doing a search here for another poster's previous comments. This scumbag is on his way to Hell right now (unless he repents) for doing this. He won't go unpunished!
Anyway, I truly appreciate your very kind words, and support at times.
I know that conservatives want the same things. Freedom and limited government involvement in our lives.
Some want other things in the name of conservatism, but they are thankfully in the minority~ like those who want an anti-war and anti-Israel type of government. They hate other conservatives and especially those of us who call them on it.
It ain't gonna happen.
Tim*| 11.17.10 @ 10:07PM
Ronald Reagan:
“The United States has thus far sought to play the role of mediator. We have avoided public comment on the key issues. We have always recognized and continue to recognize that only the voluntary agreement of those parties most directly involved in the conflict can provide an enduring solution. But it’s become evident to me that some clearer sense of America’s position on the key issues is necessary to encourage wider support for the peace process. . . . the immediate adoption of a settlement freeze by Israel, more than any other action, could create the confidence needed for wider participation in these talks. Further settlement activity is in no way necessary for the security of Israel.”
Tim*| 11.17.10 @ 9:49PM
"Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country."
-Ronald Reagan
Margie| 11.17.10 @ 10:03PM
Do you think Ronald Reagan would approve of Ron Paul's current buddy-buddy with Barney Frank right now as they work together to defund the military?
And do you think he'd approve of Ron Paul's lunacy when he states that the terrorists are terrorists because of the U.S.?
Ha!
And do you think he would approve of your self who spews filthy hatred and lies and posts using my name to lie and turn others against me?
Better yet, Timmy* ~ do you think that God approves of all of the above?
Tim*| 11.17.10 @ 10:10PM
Ronald Reagan July 1975:
"If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals–if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.
Now, I can’t say that I will agree with all the things that the present group who call themselves Libertarians in the sense of a party say, because I think that like in any political movement there are shades, and there are libertarians who are almost over at the point of wanting no government at all or anarchy. I believe there are legitimate government functions. There is a legitimate need in an orderly society for some government to maintain freedom or we will have tyranny by individuals. The strongest man on the block will run the neighborhood. We have government to insure that we don’t each one of us have to carry a club to defend ourselves. But again, I stand on my statement that I think that libertarianism and conservatism are travelling the same path."
Tim*| 11.17.10 @ 10:14PM
Ronald Reagan On Defense Waste:
"Much of the waste in defense is directly attributable to the appropriations process. The vote delays on the MX missile and the suspension of the B-1 bomber cost this country billions of dollars--dollars that were lost forever as those systems that were set back had to be reprogrammed at higher cost.
"The report also calls for less micromanagement," he said. "Instead of scrutinizing every paper clip, bolt and bullet, Congress should give more thought to our overall defense needs and strategy."
The President particularly praised the commission's recommendation for five-year spending projections and two-year budget cycles for the Pentagon. "We are the only major country in the world that rewrites its defense budget every year," Reagan said.
"The waste that results is immense," he said. "No company in the private sector could survive if it couldn't plan for the future. The effect of funding programs this way is less defense and more cost."
Reagan appointed the commission, headed by former Deputy Defense Secretary David Packard, last June and asked it to propose reforms that would end "horror stories" about $600 toilet seat covers, $400 hammers and fierce interservice rivalries."
Occam's Tool| 11.17.10 @ 6:57PM
I don't see too many teaparty types dissing Goldwater or Reagan. Dole didn't have it, period. Nixon was for price controls, remember? Not much difference between Nixon and Lieberman. And, as much as I appreciate Joe's Hawkishness on foreign policy, he is a Liberal. A patriotic one, which makes him a rara avis, but a Liberal nonetheless. This Jewish guy did not vote for him for VEEP.
The Center Holds Just Fine| 11.18.10 @ 12:18PM
Murkowski’s victory blows the concept of the mushy middle right out of the water. Like it or not there is a center in American politics, one that Miller, O’Donnell and Angle could not find. Murkowski's victory is a probable indication that Miller strayed far from the state party’s perceived center and he he paid for it.
No, the Center is alive and well.
chris87654| 11.18.10 @ 7:23PM
I'm a moderate and won't tune out. Not everyone left of extreme right is a liberal, and there's a limit (thank God) to what can win a general election. Interesting now that O'Donnell lost that rightists are saying she wasn't right for the job - Rove was right about O'Donnell and is right about Palin. Lots of noise but neither can win a general.