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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: techguerrilla who wrote (36673)	7/21/2004 1:46:08 PM
From: zonkie	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

The title of this article is misleading. It's not that he's too liberal it's that he's too phony, like the last time when he loaded the convention speaker list with blacks. Junior, where are the blacks this time ? _________________________ Bush criticised over 'too liberal' image By Alec Russell in Washington (Filed: 20/07/2004) A powerful lobby of conservative Republicans is complaining that President George W Bush's re-election team is planning to present too liberal an image at the party convention. The row goes to the heart of the tactics for the last stage of the campaign. George W Bush: 'too soft' In a clear attempt to woo "swing voters", the traditional key to a presidential election, the prime-time speakers' list at next month's convention is dominated by Republican moderates, including Rudi Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California. But for most Republicans, the moderates' views on social issues are closer to the Democrats than their own party's core. More than half the Republicans in the House of Representatives have signed a letter to Mr Bush complaining about the lack of conservative "pro-life" speakers in a coveted prime-time slot, with the obvious exceptions of Mr Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney. But voters appear to be more focused on the campaign than ever before at this stage in a presidential race. Polls suggest that two thirds of the electorate have already put a lot of thought into their choice. Four years ago, only about a third were paying such close attention. The irritation in Congress is intensified by divisions over Mr Bush's legislative record and the invasion of Iraq, which ran counter to the inclinations of many traditional conservatives. Now that issue is affecting his re-election chances. "There is a general sense of angst," said Michael Franc, of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank with close ties to congressional Republicans. "Is the glass half full or half empty? "If you mishandle such complaints, you run the risk of alienating the base and that is a no-no. It becomes a nagging irritant. But the key will be the broad campaign themes They tell you where the party is. "Ultimately Bush can say some extremely moderate things at the convention. Many swing voters will only be tuning in at the convention. And passions are so high that the base is not going to abandon Bush." The debate rekindles memories of the 2000 campaign when Mr Bush's staff used the convention to project a moderate image that had little bearing on the views of many of the delegates. David Brooks, one of America's most respected conservative columnists, called the 2000 platform "a parody of inclusiveness. On stage . . . mostly black performers; in the arena, white people in the stands." Conservatives are pushing for Representative Henry Hyde, a veteran opponent of abortion, to have a prominent slot. "When he is introduced at the convention, it is going to be like Elvis at Memphis," Representative Mike Pence told The Washington Times. "The strength of the Republican majority in America is not in the California governor's office, it's in the millions of pro-family voters who will campaign for our candidates and turn out on election day." If Mr Bush loses in November, the internal debate will intensify as the party searches for a new champion. But so dominant are the Christian and social conservatives that moderates such as Mr Giuliani would face a colossal challenge if they bid for the nomination. news.telegraph.co.uk