[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: The Real Middle Ground

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
The Real Middle Ground
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1247019526.shtml


   In her [1]Friendly Advice for Norm Coleman post at the Freedom Dogs,
   "Activist Next Door" Shelia again necessarily raises the question of
   Conservatism vs Principled Pragmatism. In the comments we again hear
   that we Conservatives are the problem, unwilling to settle for half an
   electable loaf. What's the point ask the Conservatives, even when they
   do happen to get elected? And somehow this is a grassroots vs elites
   struggle, and I'm not even sure which is which.
   Later in those comments, Sheila made a point that clarified things for
   me.

     "Here's the thing with Coleman/McCain-- they don't make you feel
     good about being a Republican, they make you feel bad about being a
     Republican...catch my drift?
     Everyone says that they want people in the middle, they want
     moderates, blah, blah, blah...but they typically don't vote that
     way."

   Did you catch her drift?
   Take our Governor, Tim Pawlenty. At his worst, he can be positively
   infuriating, signing the junk science smoking ban, yanking the stadium
   referendum out of our hands, needless raising taxes then lying about
   it, and of course, his continued enviro-lunacy. And yet we like him,
   and we'll stand with him. We know we could do a lot worse, like Arne
   Carlson. And at his best, he not only holds off the DFL tax raising
   hordes, he exposes their leaders as inept fools.
   But John McCain? Senator John *#&#@ elitist *@*&!# Gang of 14 %#@$#
   Palin back-stabbing @&$#! McCain? Catch my drift? I'll be kinder to
   Norm Coleman, who at least got national security right, but let's face
   it, he's not one of us, either. And neither proved electable. Yes, I
   know Coleman truly did get more legal votes than Franken, but in the
   Republican disaster of 2008, almost any other DFL candidate would have
   crushed Coleman.
   The point is, Coleman and McCain are NOT the middle ground, the
   fertile middle ground that can produce winning candidates. That ground
   is further to the right. There is room between Norm Coleman and Jason
   Lewis, and that's where we'll find that blend of electability and
   principle we should all be proud to call Republican.

References

   1. http://tinyurl.com/mv6was