Posted on 02/13/2005 10:25:03 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is, in a sense, fighting a two-front political war - not only seeking dominance over Democrats in the Capitol with a series of flanking maneuvers but trying to remake what has been a very conservative state Republican Party in his own ideologically centrist image.
Were he to succeed on both fronts, Schwarzenegger could have a dramatic impact on California politics that would last beyond his governorship. And the key to both is the millions of moderate voters who have felt alienated from both a very conservative Republican Party and a very liberal Democratic Party, but who have tended, however reluctantly, to favor the latter in recent elections.
Self-described moderates make up about half of California's electorate and once favored the GOP when the prevailing issues were ones of self-protection, such as the Cold War and crime. But as those issues faded in importance, and social conflicts, such as abortion and gun control, took center stage, moderate voters drifted to the Democrats, who captured every statewide office and strong majorities in the Legislature and the congressional delegation.
Republican moderates argued that the party needed to move to the center to regain relevance and noted that Democrats' share of voter registration was continuing to drop. But to conservatives, fidelity to their principles and control of the party were more important than winning elections.
Democrats, meanwhile, became so confident that moderate voters would remain with them that they began drifting to the left, championing causes - such as gay marriage and drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants - that alienated centrists. The two-party gerrymander of legislative districts in 2001 accelerated the trend, making it nearly impossible for moderates of either party to win legislative seats.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Dan swings for the fence.
fyi
Anything to escape the extremist, arrogant rule of most of this state's Dem legislators.
My observation is that the CA Repub. party fails to create a credible, moderate image. Moderate candidates like Campbell and Jones lose elections because they can't reach the silent majority of middle-of-the-road voters.
Gerrymandering has cut both ways, feeding extremisim on both sides. In the meantime, Californians feel less and less represented, as elected officials look to their cacuses, not the voters for direction and support.
In many cases, Republicans in California, have performed poorly as candidates.
Simon comes to mind.
Should state and national parties support their duly chosen primary winners?
If so, why didn't Simon receive at least a reasonable amount of suport from the state party leadership?
Who are they to decide if the voters choice is worthy of their annointing and funding as well?
W.A.S.S.
Denny Crane: "There are two places to find the truth. First God and then Fox News."
More BS from Dan. Just doin' his part to further the demise of the party.
I liked the closing:
"Those poor little guys," Schwarzenegger said of the Democrats in a speech to the state GOP convention.
"They're trying very hard. ... They may have a wonderful dream about that. But the reality is very sad for them. The reality is that they're not going to get my numbers down, and we're going to get our message out there, and we're going to go all the way, and we're going to win this year with all four reforms."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.