The Choices:
1) Appeal to the disillusioned left.
2) Appeal to the center.
3) Persuade the center toward the right.
4) Appeal to the impassioned right.
5) All of the above.
Appeal to the disillusioned left:
The grassroots progressives are disillusioned with Obama. They are close to becoming disenchanted with Big Government, too. Tell them to connect the dots. (Big Government is in cahoots with Big Business.) Emphasize grassroots capitalism. Appeal to the progressives that we'll adopt Teddy Roosevelt's trust busting ideals. For example: by breaking up the healthcare monopolies, liberalizing patent laws, loosening licensing restrictions, allowing physician-owned hospitals ... the increased competition will result in markedly lower prices for the healthcare consumer. Then there wouldn't be this need for mandated insurance!
Appeal to the center:
This is what Mitt Romney is trying to do. But his flip-flops are counterproductive. (It would be so much better to be a consistent centrist.) The person who is a chameleon cannot be trusted. What is he today? What will he be tomorrow?
Persuade the center toward the right:
This is what @MrSimpleSense at Twitter suggests. It is an excellent idea. Ronald Reagan, the great communicator, accomplished this during the 1980's.
Appeal to the impassioned right:
This is the gospel message of the Tea Party. But if taken too far, it will backfire on us.
All of the above:
This is my recommendation. Appeal to the left by breaking up the monopolies. Appeal to the right by shrinking the size of the federal government. Appeal to the center by taking incremental steps to restore fiscal sanity. Persuade the center to the right by communicating effectively.
The problem is the GOP is NOT doing any of these things. More so than ever the GOP is pandering the the extreme religious right. And in doing so they are alienating those who are moderate ( for lack of a better term). Many who are unhappy with Obama and would love a reasonable choice to vote for will vote him simply because its easier to deal with the evil you know.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I like your strategy and hope the GOP will adopt it. I think some candidates like Herman Cain are trending this way, but whoever wins front-runner position needs to stick with the smart course of action you describe.
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