Free Republic

Republicans Ponder the Center By ADAM NAGOURNEY AN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 10 — In Arnold Schwarzenegger, the national Republican Party now has a magnetic movie star in charge of the most populous state in the union, a governor-elect who has already emerged as an articulate, media-savvy and earnest figure who does not play by the conventional rules of politics. But far from simply rejoicing over his election, the party finds itself entangled in a debate over whether it should follow Mr. Schwarzenegger's path by moving to the center on social issues in order to become even more competitive in state...

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 10 — In Arnold Schwarzenegger, the national Republican Party now has a magnetic movie star in charge of the most populous state in the union, a governor-elect who has already emerged as an articulate, media-savvy and earnest figure who does not play by the conventional rules of politics. But far from simply rejoicing over his election, the party finds itself entangled in a debate over whether it should follow Mr. Schwarzenegger's path by moving to the center on social issues in order to become even more competitive in state and national races. Mr. Schwarzenegger's sweeping victory...

<p>Unlike the rest of us, Californians have to pass through life perched over the San Andreas Fault. As such, their survival depends on being able to pick up vibrations faster than most people, whether it's glasses of water shifting on a tabletop or politics rippling across the vast and diverse terrain of the Golden State. On Tuesday, more than seven million restless Californians voted to replace their governor, and once the tectonic plates of this recall-cum-gubernatorial election stopped shifting, the one political monument that I saw lying in pieces was the traditional notion of just who and what constitutes a "moderate." As of Tuesday's reordering in California, I think the definition of political "moderate" has shifted seismically to the right.</p>

<p>Unlike the rest of us, Californians have to pass through life perched over the San Andreas Fault. As such, their survival depends on being able to pick up vibrations faster than most people, whether it's glasses of water shifting on a tabletop or politics rippling across the vast and diverse terrain of the Golden State. On Tuesday, more than seven million restless Californians voted to replace their governor, and once the tectonic plates of this recall-cum-gubernatorial election stopped shifting, the one political monument that I saw lying in pieces was the traditional notion of just who and what constitutes a "moderate." As of Tuesday's reordering in California, I think the definition of political "moderate" has shifted seismically to the right.</p>