A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics
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A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics | |
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September 21, 2003Clark A Former RepublicanSome partisan Democrats have reacted with dismay to the news that Clark is a former Republican
As an centrist, I'm delighted to support a candidate who isn't rigidly tied to one party. A highly partisan Democrat like Howard Dean may rally the core of the party, but is likely to alienate Independents. After all, if Independents were so keen on Democrats, we'd have registered as Democrats. According to a pre-9/11 Harris poll (the most recent data I've located),
Given the Democratic lead in party affiliation, I surmise that the average Independent must lean slightly Republican to produce the nearly even 2000 election and Republican control of both houses of Congress. Certainly, Independents vote for Republican candidates from time to time, and may feel personally attacked by rhetoric that stigmatizes all Republicans.Here is an example of what not to do. A college student writes regarding his professor:
Partisan Democrats are not alone engaging in such demeaning statements. Republican pundit Anne Coulter has been very successful with similar attacks aimed at Democrats and liberals. Some Independents who are to the left of the Democratic Party may be "brought home" by such partisanship, just as it may cause some Independents to the right of the GOP to affiliate. But overall, public opinion data confirms that Independents are predominantly moderate, and fit in between the two parties on the political spectrum. In other words, centrist Independents. To win in November 2004, the Democratic presidential candidate must appeal to those who are "in between" Wesley Clark's personal history demonstrates that he can do that. (cross-posted at Independents For Clark) Posted by rickheller at September 21, 2003 03:20 PMComments
Reagan was a former democrat. Why fuss about this kind of thing? Posted by: Erasmus at September 21, 2003 05:14 PMAl Gore Lost because he tried too hard to "appeal" to the Center, and forgot about his base. I'm not guessing which strategy is correct, but it will be very interesting to see if this "Aim for the Center" approach wins should Clark get the nomination. What do you do if it doesn't? Posted by: Xoom at September 21, 2003 06:24 PMReagan's Democratic orientation was long past when he ran for President. It' seems like Clark's Republican ties are more recent: http://centristcoalition.com/blog/clark/archives/000124.html Since I'm a centrist, it doesn't bother me at all. But it will indeed be interesting to see how this plays out. Posted by: Rick Heller at September 21, 2003 07:32 PMI'd just like to respectfully point out that other independents have differing views to the commentary of this post, and see Dean as a centrist... for writing on this see http://deanindependents.org Perhaps Clark is a traditional Republican/conservative, in contrast to the radical neo-cons of the Bush administration. But his comment in Newsweek that he would have been a Republican if Karll Rove returned his phone calls makes me wonder. I was intrigued by Clark, but now I wonder if he's a Democrat out of spite. Posted by: Todd at September 22, 2003 02:59 PMI think Clark's positions on the issues make it clear that he's not a conservative -- being pro-choice, pro-affirmative action, pro-gay rights, etc. It seems to me he will either turn out to be moderate or liberal in his views, depending on how he defines them. It's a good sign, to me, that he would have seriously considered being a Republican. It suggests he may very well be in the middle -- a moderate who could belong to either party. Posted by: William Swann at September 22, 2003 04:28 PMWilliam, if that was in response to what I wrote, let me clarify my new discomfort with Clark... first, the reference to Karl Rove not returning his call implies he would have been comfortable as a Rove/Bush style Republican (which is not a traditional conservative/Republican). Second, being motivated by spite? I'm not making hard claims, just raising possible question marks (which have popped into my mind). Posted by: Todd at September 22, 2003 05:33 PM |
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