You Can Call Me IRV

Those of you who have been on this planet 40-plus years will probably remember Bill Saluga. No, you might not remember his name, but I bet you remember his signature schtick as Raymond J. Johnson Jr.

… ya doesn’t has to call me Johnson. You can call me Ray, or you can call me Jay, or you can call me Johnny …

Inspired by Mr. Saluga — and recognizing that I’m just not, nor will I ever be, the type of neo-con, blind-partisan Republican preferred by Hugh, Rush, Sean, and Bill, I’ve decided that:

… ya doesn’t has to call me RINO. You can call me ROI, or you can call me IRV, or you can call me simply Republican …

Simply Republican?

You bet, if you’re referring to Republicans like Abe Lincoln, Ike Eisenhower, Teddy Roosevelt, Jack Danforth, or Christy Whitman.

ROI? IRV?

Yes, for “Republican-Oriented Independent” and “Independent Republican Voter,” respectively.

In other words, I’m registered to vote as a Republican, and I consider myself a Republican of the ilk generally defined by those former three presidents, one senator, and one governor listed above. However, if I’m faced with voting for a Republican candidate who does not fit said mold — versus a Democrat or Libertarian or other-party candidate who does — then I’ll be voting for the Democrat, or Libertarian, or other-party candidate.

(I think that makes me more of an IRV than a ROI, although I’m sure there are others who will argue just the opposite. And frankly, in the end, where you place the emphasis — be it on Independent or on Republican — probably doesn’t matter. What matters is the vote, and my vote is still up-for-grabs, regardless of party affiliation.)

So, why am I raising this subject now? Four reasons; the first couple speak to why I’m keeping the R; the next couple explain why that R is threaded with a decidedly independent streak.

(1) Notable defections continue from the Republican core.

Among office holders and former office holders, there’s Missouri State Senator Chris Koster, NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and former U.S. Congressman Pete McCloskey. Among pundits, John Cole was probably the most recent. I respect their various decisions, but I think they’re jumping ship prematurely.

(2) Contrary to conventional wisdom, I believe the two-dozen-plus Republicans who have signed The Letter (so far) are more reflective of the “real base” of the party than the “faux base” of social conservatives, isolationists, and bigots.

I also believe the “real base” outnumbers the “faux base” and thus, the challenge of reforming the party is not so much a challenge of numbers, but of voice and volume of voice. Unfortunately, if the “real base” continues to be as quiet or muted as they have been for the last six years — or if they decide to follow John Cole out the door — then the party and its core principles will, in fact, be doomed to the outmost fringe of American politics.

(3) I’m not a “party-first, above-all-else” kind of person.

I recently had to step back from my involvement with the Republican Leadership Council. I did so out of necessity, for entirely personal reasons, which have nothing to do with politics or political will. But I realize now that this move was likely the right move for other reasons, too. For you see, as much as I respect the RLC’s moderate mission and its founders like Whitman and Danforth, I fear that a sizeable portion of the group’s supporters still adhere to that “party-first” mentality, much like President Reagan did. Reagan said that we should “never speak ill of a fellow Republican.” If he had been referring only to character assassination, I’d agree with him. (Hell, I’d go a step further, because I rarely think it’s justified to speak ill of anyone’s character, Republican, Democrat, or otherwise.) But Reagan was not narrowly referring to character attacks. He was broadly warning Republicans never to argue in the public’s eye. They could argue in back rooms, face-to-face, but when the curtain opened, they should join hands, smile, and present a unified front. Wrong. I believe a party is much stronger when its debates are held in the open, when dissents like those from Chuck Hagel and Ron Paul can be aired and vetted, when the tug and pull of ideas is engaged with the public’s full participation.

(4) It’s increasingly likely that I will do the unthinkable in November 2008 and vote for a D for president.

Accordingly, I wanted to put my stake in the ground now, so my right-leaning readers, friends, and family will understand why. Granted, some would argue that John Cole’s approach (flat-out dumping the Scarlet R) is intellectually more honest. But I think both approaches have merit. Cole warns the party leaders by defection. I warn them by defiance. Either way, it’s still a wake-up call — one I hope will be increasingly difficult to ignore in the months ahead.