[NittanyLion]

Unfortunately, I thin the ideological purists have a chance to pull enough support away from Bush through either a stay-at-home decision or Constitution Party/write-in that Bush could lose and John F***ing Kerry gets in.

I think Bush's policy decisions have predictable consequences. He's essentially trying to convince a bloc of independent voters to come to his side, and he realizes that will come at the cost of some conservatives. The gamble he's willingly assumed is that he'll pick up more votes from the middle than he'll lose from the right. We'll see if this calculation pays off.

My point, however, is that if conservatives leave the fold that's a consequence of Bush's actions rather than a reflection on conservatives. If he loses the gamble, the blame should properly be placed on him for a bad political play - not on conservatives for their choice.

[hoosiermama]

DId you see the link at 264? Maybe he's throwing out a carrot or two to the conservatives too!

[hchutch]

I think some of his reaching to the middle is due to the stay-at-homes referred to by Rove - 4 million.

They do not think conservatives are reliable, and in politics, the LEAST reliable supporters are the ones Bush will be LEAST likely to stick his neck out for.

And it only gets worse when he is attacked for pandering whern it may be an honest disagreement with his base (say, on immigration reform).