February 26, 2007
Moderation on the Rise in the GOP?

By Peter Brown
It is too early to make definitive statements about 2008, but the evidence points to a change in the tone, if not the substance, of the Republican message.
Although moderation is in the eye of the beholder and difficult to define, the GOP message and messenger are much more likely than in the recent past to be less beholden to, or a member of, the party's strongly conservative wing.
There are two reasons why:
* The background and views of the two leading candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
* The lesson that may lie in the success of GOP governors with high approval ratings. Florida's Charlie Crist, California's Arnold Schwarzenegger and Connecticut's Jody Rell are thriving with a vision that features a larger role for government.
Since the nomination of Ronald Reagan in 1980, moderates have fared poorly in Republican presidential primaries. The GOP has stood for lower taxes, toughness on defense and opposition to abortion, gay rights and gun control.
But while McCain and Giuliani spout that line on taxes and terrorism, their views on lifestyles issues are less in sync with recent Republican tradition.
Yes, McCain is firmly anti-abortion and opposes gay marriage, but opposes a federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex unions. He is seeking to mend relations with conservative Christians; in the past he has been critical of some of their leaders.
Giuliani favors abortion rights, gay rights and gun control - which puts him at odds with most GOP primary voters. Yet, his image as a strong leader arising out of his post-9/11 record so far has him ahead of the GOP pack in virtually all polls.
It is the GOP governors who want to use government more actively, in some cases forsaking reliance on the marketplace, whose high approval numbers might be the best indicator of what is to come.
Crist campaigned to be "the peoples' governor," soft-pedaling issues that appeal to social conservatives. He won comfortably and then took on the insurance industry, which had contributed heavily to his campaign, with a plan approved by lawmakers to cut rates. The key is exposing the state to potentially much greater financial liability in case of a catastrophic storm - an approach that made many fiscal conservatives wring their hands.
Although he is still in the early months of his administration, Crist has astronomical popularity. A Quinnipiac University February poll found him with a 69 percent job -approval rating among registered voters, with only 6 percent saying they disapproved. His support is uniform across party lines. Democrats give him thumbs-up 65-7 percent.
Rell's high personal ratings despite less enthusiastic public support for some of her proposals has earned her the nickname "Teflon Jody." She recently proposed an income- tax hike to pay for additional education spending. Even though 56 percent of Connecticut registered voters said they opposed the tax hike, 72 percent gave her a positive job approval rating, compared to 20 percent who disapproved.
Schwarzenegger's first term in Sacramento was marked by partisan bickering and public rejection of his proposed reform measures that were opposed by Democrats who control the Legislature. He won re-election last November with a campaign that played down ideology, and then proposed that California provide health insurance to all, and redouble its environmental efforts, not usually GOP priorities.
But a poll by the Public Policy Institute of California last month gave him a 58 percent approval rating, 55 percent among Democrats, 60 percent among independents and 72 percent among Republicans.
Of course, none of this means that the Republican message and appeal will lean less to the right. And nothing has changed the inclination of those who vote in Republican presidential primaries.
Yet, there are signs worth watching. In politics change occurs before most realize it. Just as the Democratic Party under Bill Clinton modified its focus to remain competitive, the same thing may be happening on the other side of the aisle for 2008.
Peter A. Brown is assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. He can be reached at peter.brown@quinnipiac.edu

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An informed voter scares the Goverment lackeys.

An American first and always a Conservative.

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Ahhh, the grand extremist experiment is over. Now if you'd just round up your war perps, we could move on, eh?

That is not why I posted this ariticle. The moderates of both parties need to come together and force changes in our goverment.

__________________
An informed voter scares the Goverment lackeys.

An American first and always a Conservative.

Go Sooners

Moderation is good and probably more representative of the American people.

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I respect your right to have your own opinion,but I do not necessarily respect your opinion.

I ain't in a mood to be moderate. I wanna see the neocons in Gitmo.

neocons, are American citizens with full access to their rights to civil liberities.

__________________
An informed voter scares the Goverment lackeys.

An American first and always a Conservative.

Go Sooners

hey rob i wonder if we will ever see the article proclaiming liberalism moderating...... but we all know that this is only possible when consevatism is at
it's strongest...


Eventually after a few generations. the folks that we call libs will be radical right wingers

Moderation equates to the "Middle of the Road" in my book. In other words, future speed-bumps and road-kill.

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A Liberal is a Man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel (Robert Frost 1874-1963).

The only thing that will save the GOP after courting and sleeping with the warmongering deficit spending NEOCONS, would be to return to party of Eisenhower of the 1950's.

FIND A WAY TO GO BACK TO YOUR REPUBLICAN ROOTS!

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AMERICA LAND OF THE FREE HOME OF THE BRAVE--BECAUSE OF OUR CONSTITUTION.

Rasta, you will see that the Republican party will get back to being moral, family oriented and fiscally conservative and back to representing their base, which by the way is closer to the American people than the left.

__________________
An informed voter scares the Goverment lackeys.

An American first and always a Conservative.

Go Sooners