I’m pretty satisfied with all of the front runners for President
They all seem to be various degrees of centrist/moderate. Some more right like McCain. Some more left like Edwards. But all seem to be inclusive, pragmatic, and have a history of bi-partisan cooperation. At this time I would be optimistic with any of them as President or Vice President.
My focus is more on the Congress. This is where I think there is the most opportunity for progress towards a more-productive group of legislators. That is why I am paying attention to the new Chairman of the four congressional campaign committees: Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D Maryland), Rep. Tom Cole (R Oklahoma), Senator Schumer (D NY), Sen. John Ensign (R Nevada). I want to encourage and help them recruit moderate candidates for the election in 2008 in which 435 Representatives and a third of the Senators are up for election. I think I can get a lot more bang for my buck by helping moderates of either party, in close elections in 2008. Maybe some heavyweights might see it the same way, like Mayor Bloomberg.
For me, there is too much attention on the theater of the presidential race. Most of the controversial decisions for making our government work will be done by the middle-of-road swing-voters in Congress.
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13 Responses to “I’m pretty satisfied with all of the front runners for President”
Paul,
I think the following statement will be true for at least one more election cycle. Influential moderate Republican, an oxymoron for our times.
We gotta start somewhere:
Sen. Norm Coleman,
Sen. Susan Collins,
Sen. John McCain,
Sen. Gordon Smith,
Sen. Olympia Snowe,
Sen. Arlen Specter,
Rep. Christopher Shays,
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Mayor Bloomberg
John Danforth
Alan Simpson
Lincoln Chafee
Mike DeWine
Giuliani
Mitt Romney
Paul- are Mitt and McCain still moderates? They seem to be moving right daily. Is Newt Gingrich the only GOP candidate that is judged to be a conservative?
John McCain???
That’s one of the biggest warmongers in the Congress. He’s a real nut….still mad about the loss of the Vietnam war. A John McCain Administration would make the Bush Administration look like Sesame Street.
Just like George W. had some of us wishing for the Reagan days, McCain will have some folks wishing George W. was back in office because of the stability that W. provided (in comparison to how things will be under McCain).
McCain is one of the main reasons why Hillary Clinton should not run for President and must not be allowed to win the Democratic Party’s nomination (although I don’t think she’ll get it even if she runs)….But just the possibility scares the hell out of me. Why? Because Hillary Vs. McCain, basically guarantees a McCain victory.
It’s fun watching everyone on the “other side” from commenters get instantly tagged as extremists. And you can play that game from both sides! Isn’t it cute?
We have to learn to separate the posturing of electioneering from the normal temperament of candidates.
The Republicans need to run right to pander to right wing money and votes. The Democrats likewise to the left.
I observe that all of the frontrunners and Mitt Romney are all more moderate than the way they campaign.
I don’t agree with the previous comment about McCain being a war monger. He believes in the effective use of force and so do I in the context of competent diplomacy.
But, Paul in Austin, McCain supports a troop surge over the objections of the JCS and Abizaid. He is GW’s right hand man on the war these days. There was a time that more troops would have helped, now they are mostly to preserve Bush’s ego from a humiliating defeat.
Even when he stands up to the administration on the Geneva Conventions and torture of enemy combatents, he usually ends up caving or lets Bush get away with negating the will of Congress with signing statements.
There is no way I would vote for McCain. Remember, Bush was viewed as a moderate candidate once. When he figured out that his base was mostly conservative, he adjusted his decision-making accordingly.
I am also one of the very few who reluctantly supports the surge because of the remote chance that we can buy the Iraqi government time to decide if they want to succeed. It upsets me to leave Iraq with a triumph of the renegades. It only encourages other Islamic extremists, like we are seeing in Somalia.
McCain is conservative no doubt. But for many issues I think he has a nonpartisan point of view. I think he regrets the Torture issue and would participate in fixing it.
If he is running against Hillary/Obama I would probably not vote for him.
Paul,
McCain is much further to the right than you apparently realize. Not only in his support for Bush but in his affiliation with the Religious Right. Also, please notice that I included the word influential in my post. I don’t deny that moderate Republicans exist. I just recognize that the party leadership ignores them completely except when it’s necessary to twist their arms to vote for the party on some issue, which they will often cave in and do.
The moderate Republican’s might be more influential if they would work together and financially support each other.
Jim S is correct about moderate Republicans. Because they ran in mostly moderate or Democratic districts half of moderate Republicans in the House lost their seats. Voters were angered that they had chosen to vote so often with their party. Even Chaffee- a popular moderate who more often voted with Democrats was swept out in order to get a change in leadership.
The Chaffee story may be similar to the others. He capitulated to the GOP leadership so that he could bring home the bacon. Without a critical mass of moderates they will get run over.
I suspect that the Blue Dogs with 44 members will not get run over by the House Leaders.
There is a reasonable chance that Dems will blow their chance to change congress. But the GOP is not prepared to court the moderate voters. It would be nice for Chaffee, Jim Leach and people of that ilk to come back to a grateful congress.
McCain is a hardline relic of the Cold War…..
He hasn’t been a war monger only on the issue of Iraq. He was a warmonger before Iraq.
This is a guy who has supported the idea of attacks on Iran, North Korea, Syria and has supported a more confrontational stance with China and Russia. He’s a Neo-Conservative (especially in terms of his foreign policy). He believes in a Truman Doctrine on steroids….for the New World. He may try to dress it up as something else more moderate….but it’s something much more to the Right.
No…. i’m not looking forward to a McCain administration. I’d rather slit my wrist.
What we have in the White House now is better.