Monday, December 11, 2006

On the conservative movement's zampolit wing...

GOPProgress has the latest on the zampolit wing of the conservative movement.

Never mind Mitt Romney's track record as governor, they are going to dig up stuff from his rookie campaign against Ted Kennedy - as if the possibility that a person might have changed his mind over the past 12 years is unthinkable to them.

This unrealistic attitude by certain folks on the right creates two very big problems for the Republicans:
1. It gets them painted as intolerant bigots, which is largely untrue (there are some, but they are very rare). Most Americans have no desire to vote for intolerant bigots.

2. It makes it harder for the GOP to deal with important issues. When a small group can cause a firestorm of controversy over a solution that does not precisely fit their aesthetics, the result is that usually Republicans will end up tap-dancing around an issue and not doing anything (see the immigration bill as a result), or focus on an issue that is really a sideshow (see the internet gambling ban).

In a way, it is good to see the front-runners are McCain, Giuliani, and Romney. Any of the three will be a good President, although I know that in each case, I will be gritting my teeth over some of their decisions. Good leaders tend to do that, and so, I can live with it.

1 comment:

Doc Holiday said...

Check my comments to your posting over at GOP Progress. I don't mind admitting I have very serious reservations about Romney. I think he's the GOP version of Bill Clinton.

The Pink Flamingo