The GOP seems to be reacting to the 2006 loss pretty much as most of us here at "The Citizens" expected. They are going further out on the right wing fringe on social issues. More red meat to the Christian Conservative base on issues only they give a damn about.
Why is this expected? Because one of the things the 2006 election did was weed out a lot of Republicans from suburban districts and other swing areas. The result is that the Republicans that are left are even more Southern, more rural, more Christian Conservative than before. Immediately after the election, they were saying that the reason relative moderates lost was because they weren't far right enough. They completely miss the real point (typical). The reason the far right survived intact was because they come from the safest Republican districts: rural, white, Protestant dominated districts in the deep South. So for 2008, they're going to go spiraling off to the right most reaches of outer space.
What does this say about who will win the GOP nomination in 2008? My guess is that this is good news for Brownback. It's bad news for Gingrich who probably wants the GOP to focus on economic and fiscal conservatism. I think it's also good news for the Democrats.
What do you all think?
Friday, December 01, 2006
And off they go to the right...
Posted by Raised By Republicans at 6:12 AM
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1 comment:
Please, do not embed the information in the link. Say "GOP is considering a bill recognizing pain in fetuses" then give the link. That way, I know what you are talking about without following a link.
As for substance, I agree that the elimination of moderates from the party has shifted the median Republican member of Congress to the right. That being done, their expected legislation is even farther right than 2006, regardless of what GOP analysts in think tanks may realize they should do (i.e., go centrist).
By contrast, the median Democrat has been pulled toward the center by 2006 elections. My hope is that Nancy Pelosi does not fuck it up.
// posted by LTG
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