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Steele going after moderates: a terrible strategy
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Michael Steele
Michael Steele, Chairman of the RNC, told ABC that the Republicans are going after "moderate" politicican who support the Democrat's domestic policies. He said, "[C]andidates who live in moderate to slightly liberal districts have got to walk a little bit carefully here, because you do not want to put yourself in a position where you’re crossing that line on conservative principles, fiscal principles, because we’ll come after you".
This is a terrible idea. It seems that every group and politician uses the strategy of appealing to the right. The Democrats try to appeal to the right by compromising themselves out of everything. And the Republicans try to appeal to the far right, when that group does not represent the majority of Americans, and certainly isn't helping to get them elected.
With only 20% of Americans calling themselves Republicans, the party really needs to prove to their constituents that they're not just corporate sellouts and right-wing lunatics (I'm not so sure most of them are more than that at this point).
Take for example, the recent election in New York's 23 district. The Republicans supported the most conservative candidate, Doug Hoffman. 23 was a fairly conservative district, but the strategy of running the most conservative candidate was a flop, and guess what? The Democrat won.
Another example. A Democrat this time: Harry Reid. His popularity had fallen to the 30s in Nevada. The polls showed his problem wasn't a loss of conservative support. His liberal support had crumbled because he was a weak leader and not progressive enough.
So, I have a new strategy for politicians: appeal to the left. Just give it a try. Fight for things like the public option (55-77% approval)! Since you're going to sacrifice your values and any sense of decency to get elected anyway, try appealing to a group that better represents American interests.
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