2 posts tagged “conservative”

The Presidential race is rolling on, the economy is in the tank, we are still at war in two places and there are several places that we could be at war with at any minute and what happens next seems to rest on the shoulders of some folks known as independent voters.  Who are these people?

Here is how I have been shown the basic makeup of our political system…

Social &..................... Economic..........................Economic..................Social &

Economic...................Conservatives......................Liberals.....................Economic

Liberals.......................Social...............................Social........................Conservatives

...................................Liberals.............................Conservatives...............................

LEFT <------------------------------------{*}--------------------------------------> RIGHT

Democrats ..............(Libertarians)........................................................... Republicans

The key to understanding the middle is the two groups located near the middle of this chart.  The assumption in many people’s estimation is that we all neatly fit into either extreme or we are somehow not as educated or understanding of politics for some reason.  In reality what you have is a difference of opinion on what is truly important from either extreme. 

Because we tend to view American politics as a two party system the groups near the middle tend to not associate themselves to a party fully bet most often vote to the side that they appear on above.  The social aspects of our society and thee social viewpoints of the voter, tend to drive the side they choose when voting on an issue or for a candidate.  Thus, Social Liberals tend to the left and Social Conservatives tend to the right.

The truth is however that the groups near the middle always feel that they have sacrificed some ideal for another one in the interest of the greater good no matter how they decide to vote.

The problem comes when a subject such as the economy plays a big role in the picture.  Now these people near the middle have to look to the other side of the chart to satisfy their feelings on the economy while attempting to close their eyes to what is normally their main concern, the social agenda. 

Why is all of this important to this election?  I think this might demonstrate a very simple reason behind why the pools are so slanted in Senator Obama’s favor.  The Republican Presidential and Vice-presidential candidates have been speaking the language of Social and Economic Conservatives (also known as Republicans) with a fervor seldom seen in campaigns. 

They have basically ignored the group (really groups) that all along have been described as the ones that will make or break this election year and may have alienated the “Economic Liberals Social Conservatives” group in manner that may have them leaning to left for a while to come.

The Obama Campaign has done a good job of finding ways to appeal to these middle groups and to unify the more left leaning voters.  The key being that a candidate does not have to satisfy everything a person in one of the groups in the middle wants just whatever those groups find to be the most important at the time.

The only surprise in all of this is that the “Economic Conservatives Social Liberals” group is not gravitating to the right with Senator McCain.  I would have to say that the tying of Senator McCain to the largely unpopular Bush administration coupled with the dislike a person who is a social liberal would have for many of the campaign tactics and attacks of the McCain camp have driven these people to stay with the group that they tend to run with anyhow.

I am an Economic Liberal Social Conservative type of guy and would normally be a McCain supporter, but have been driven away by the terrible nature of the campaign and the insanity that is Republican politics in 2008.  I am not sure there is time left for the Republican ticket, but I am absolutely convinced that the damage to the republican party (particularly with voters in these middle groups) is massive and will be lasting.  I hope Republicans can look at this and regroup or we will be stuck with a one-sided, left-leaning government for years until things get so out of hand that the pendulum swings the other direction.

The Battle for Republican presidential hopeful is about to takeoff at full speed.  The big problem Senator McCain is gong to have is that this battle is with the conservatives within his own party. 

Senator John McCain, who has had more than his share of troubles with the more conservative of his party, has been trying to straddle the fence and keep both the moderates of his party and the ultraconservatives happy.  Both ends (and the middle of his party) have been carefully watching him with one eyebrow raised. 

While Senator McCain was using the gopher campaign technique (staying underground and poking his head out every once in while, here and there) and letting the democrats annihilate each other, this problem seemed to be dissipating.  

Now that the campaign has moved into the phase where you start to see each of the candidates more and more, there is a push to have him clearly make a stand on some issues that are important within his party. 

The few stands he has made have not been popular with the conservative end of his party and the conservatives are ready to confront this head-on beginning at the Republican Convention. 

What this means is that the riding the fence days are over.  He is going to have to make the clear stands and risk loosing the votes of those that do not approve.

The troubling part (if you are a Republican) is that your candidate has made it to July and is drifting away from having the party united instead of just going through the last needed changes to finish unifying the party.  It is as if his campaign is in reverse. 

Both Senator McCain and Senator Obama seem to having problems unifying their parties, but Senator McCain seems to be headed in the wrong direction.

The real question is; can the Moderate Republicans, the Ultra-conservative Republicans, and those somewhere in between come together and agree with Senator McCain.

If not there will be third, forth, and fifth party candidates this election season that will be looking to happily take those votes from him and absolutely destroy his chances of becoming president.

I for one am very curious where this is headed and wonder how those in his campaign will seek to unify the soon to be warring factions.