The Republicans shot themselves in the foot [in California] by insisting on "Social Conservative" candidates in the last years, instead of letting some through the primaries that were more socially liberal.
Bingo!
But don't kid yourself, the ones doing the shooting know exactly what they're doing. Some dweeb over on Free Republic posted to me that he'd rather kick the tent pole out from under the Big Tent that work for someone like Arnold.
We have to understand that this process isn't random, and it's not unconscious.
We also have to understand that we can win by moving towards the center, but if we go to the extreme right, we'll keep losing.
My husband, who is Religious Right, just read what I wrote and is ranting at me in the background. I told him I voted for the three Religious Right candidates the locals put up over the years, Mike Farris, Ollie North, and Mark Early, but I think it's time to face the facts. All three lost, and it wasn't all that close, either. The people in Virginia aren't ready to be run by the Religious Right.
He blames the Republican establishment, e.g., Virginia Senator John Warner, for catering to the votes of the Religious Right but not supporting their candidates.
It's not an issue that's going to go away easily. But in truth I don't think it's fair to blame John Warner, he's been no friend of the Religious Right from the beginning. |
