"As for politics, Republicans seeking the presidency in 2008 would do well to tear a page out of Ford's playbook: Move to the middle and stay away from the far right."
Posted on 01/13/2007 2:45:11 PM PST by calcowgirl
Things are goofy in California. I mean, goofier than usual.
Republicans are afraid they've lost influence with the governor, which wouldn't be so strange if the governor wasn't also a Republican.
What's even stranger is that -- in a true blue state such as California, where Democrats control the Legislature and most of the top offices in the executive branch -- Republicans haven't figured out most Californians no longer care what they think, and this includes the chief executive from their own party.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in for a second term on Jan. 5 after coasting to re-election.
Now, Republicans are pleading with Schwarzenegger to pursue a more conservative agenda -- even if he has no chance of getting any of it through the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
These are folks who see the value in fighting the good fight, even if they go down swinging in the first round, as they often do.
Instead, Schwarzenegger is fighting for a compassionate but controversial plan to provide health insurance for 6.5 million uninsured Californians, including illegal immigrants. He insists that, under the current system, the uninsured levy a hidden tax on everyone.
Faced with an otherwise gloomy future, the state Republican party has one bright star -- Schwarzenegger. So, naturally, the instinct among Republican ideologues is to try to drag him into the darkness with the rest of their cohorts.
Luckily, having beaten his Democratic opponent by 17 points, he is much too smart to fall for it. Just as you'd expect from someone who came to this country with empty pockets, worked hard, bought into the American dream and amassed a fortune of several hundred million dollars.
In a stirring inaugural address, Schwarzenegger made clear he's his own man, and he believes the future of American politics is right smack in the center.
"Centrist does not mean weak," he said. "It does not mean watered down or warmed over. It means well balanced and well grounded. The American people are instinctively centrist. So should be our government."
Schwarzenegger's brand of centrism means two things -- shunning extremes in search of common-sense, middle-of-the-road solutions to difficult problems and reaching out across the political divide to incorporate the best ideas your opponents have to offer while giving them credit in the process.
We desperately need more of both, not just in California but all around the United States.
If you want to know why our politics are broken in this country, this is the reason. We've reached the point where so much of the debate is all or nothing and dominated by the shrillest and most extreme voices, where people are afraid to acknowledge the other side is even half-right and where being a moderate is considered the equivalent of being squishy or indecisive.
Meanwhile, political parties aren't interested in results or solutions, as much as expanding their reach and enhancing their fundraising by taking potshots at the opposition -- even on those days when there is no real disagreement.
That doesn't make much sense, not when -- on abortion, gun control, stem cell research, immigration, the death penalty and a host of other issues -- most Americans have mixed feelings.
And not when it's the case that no single politician or political party is right on every issue.
Straight-ticket voting is a thing of the past, and the future lies in the kind of cafeteria politics that allows voters to pick and choose what they like from what the parties have to offer and discard the rest.
That's what Schwarzenegger is talking about. Still a relative novice at politics, he hasn't had time to learn bad habits that hamper most career politicians.
In his inaugural speech, he spelled out a vision of "post-partisanship" that searches out a "creative center that is not held captive of the left or the right or even the past."
The California governor is onto something, and he knows it.
He's even thinking about taking his centrist message on the road, say his aides. He might drop into New Hampshire and Iowa during the 2008 primaries to try to convince presidential candidates the middle of the road isn't a bad place to be.
Bravo for him.
Who knows? Maybe he can convince a few of them to join him there. Our politics would be better off.
Navarrette is a columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune. His e-mail address is ruben.navarrette@uniontrib.com.
Refer to post #40 for a response.
All that and a professed political expert on California.
We really should be impressed...
Indeed they are.
Remember back when FR really was a conservative site for conservatives?
Obviously not an expert on California. In fact, may not know much about the Republican party, either. Crickets abound when asked about all of Arnie's "victories" (twice) and on what part of the platform the poster might actually support (twice), lol.
Just another uninformed out-of-state troll, IMO.
You mean, say, like those bond propositions, the taking of public lands by "conservancy", healthcare for children, including illegal aliens? Those kind of "toned down" issues?
"...he'd be a much better US Senator than that shrill embarassment Californians keep sending to Washington."
And you expect the regulars around here to take you seriously?
ROFL! Your'e on to something gsp. That's about what Navarrette is selling -- anyone who actually believes in what the founders laid out, or the Republican platform, is an extremist. Heck, Reagan was called a right-wing extremist too. I guess we're in good company.
I'm all for compromising--but I'm against raising the white flag.
Ah, yes -- another "Movement Conservative" is she not?
Okay, I scanned the preamble and read the part about "domestic tranquility". It talks about preventing armed rebellion in the streets. I don't want anarchy. I don't want gang-ridden neighborhoods killing innocent people in drive-bys. I don't want hoodlums shaking down businesses for protection money. I don't want 500 thousand foreigners marching in the streets demanding special rights for non-citizens. Etc.
I think everyone could probably agree to that (except for the illegal alien part), but you cast it in a much broader vein. "Domestic tranquility" in the Constitution is certainly not supportive of "shared responsiblility" for healthcare, unless its the Communist constitution, of course.
BTS, where the heck did all that come from?????? That is so far opposite the DaleReed that has been posting on these threads for years, I don't even know where to start? You MUST have him confused with another poster!!!
Just like Liberal Arnold, you are trying to make the consitiution just pliable enough to suit your argument of the moment. At least you aren't being as pretentious as the other moderat on this thread.
Being a very crude person, I really enjoyed you "carrot being dangled over the manure pile" analogy!!Phhhhhhhht!!!
Hey Dale! Am I at least kinda right about that "what makes it repulsive" response? I wouldn't wanna be puttin words in your keyboard!!!
I will take 90%. Damn, I would even take 50% in a state like CA. Arnold has not even given me 10%, but is giving away the state to liberal policies. What part of that is harder to grasp?
hehehehehehehe! LOL!
Exactly. His plan is worse because it is designed to accelerate the demise of hospitals/doctors/insurance companies.
Indeed, that statement seems to be at odds with his posts. Could his FR account have been hacked?
Ah, yes -- another "Movement Conservative" is she not?
ROFL!
"Move On" Conservative?
I love a good fight and never back down from principles.
If I ever get to point of being a "tranquil" go along to get along they can plant me since I no longer have a place on this planet.
I even tell anyone that wants me to do work for them that if they hire illegals they can kiss my bsckside and I will never do work for them no matter what the pay or what their dire problems might be.
That last sentence is mild and toned down from what I really tell them!
Grampa Dave has that same talent and I really like it a lot!!! Of course Grampa Dave can rant better than you or I and I bet he can fish with his fly a whole lot better than either of us. Well, now, I don't know... Do you flyfish too?
I can't remember all the details of the first time I discovered your FReeping some financial outfit by getting interviewed by a local TV station over the outstanding thing you had done. Can you refresh my memory on that. It was just great!!!
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