The 'success' of the squishy Republicans

NY Times:

As Congressional Republicans lick their political wounds and try to figure out how to bounce back in 2010 and beyond, they might want to consult with Susan Collins, Lamar Alexander and Peter T. King.

Senator Collins, Senator Alexander and Representative King were among Republicans who defied the odds in a terrible year for their colleagues. Their re-elections provide a possible road map for how the party can succeed in a challenging political environment. The answer, the three veteran politicians agreed, is not to become a more conservative, combative party focused on narrow partisan issues.

“What doesn’t work is drawing a harsh ideological line in the sand,” said Ms. Collins, of Maine, who early in the year was a top Democratic target for defeat but ended up winning 61 percent of the vote while Senator Barack Obama received 58 percent in the presidential race in her state.

“We make a mistake if we are going to make our entire appeal rural and outside the Northeast and outside the Rust Belt,” said Mr. King, of New York, who easily won re-election in a region shedding Republicans at a precipitous rate.

“We can stand around and talk about our principles, but we have to put them into actions that most people agree with,” said Mr. Alexander, of Tennessee, a self-described conservative who was able to attract African-American voters.

Their comments go to the competing visions for the party’s future that will confront Republicans as they return to Capitol Hill next week to elect House and Senate leaders and begin the process of adjusting to a second consecutive round of resounding losses on Capitol Hill.

Inside and outside the Capitol, many Republicans are calling for the party to retrench to a more conservative posture, resist initiatives from the new Obama administration seen as too liberal and restore the vision of President Ronald Reagan.

...

I think it is clear that none of these candidates could have attracted as many votes to the McCain ticket as Sarah Palin did. That is a starting point when you consider where the party should go on a national basis.

On the other hand, you have to have enough room in your tent to allow people like this to survive. The way the Democrats took over Congress in 2006 was by running conservatives in conservative districts. If they had run MoveOn candidates in those districts they would not have gotten a majority. Republicans have to have the flexibility to run candidates in the northeast who can win if they are going to win back a majority.

I am pretty sure than none of these guys could win an election in Texas and we would be foolish to adopt their positions for candidates in Texas. But there are many issues on which we can agree. King for example, is very good on national security and homeland security issues. He is a smart guy. As a party we have to give him the flexibility to win in New York.

technorati tags:
political news | news | world news
More at: News 2 Cromley