** Gasp ** Could it be true? Could the Republican Party save itself by divorcing the extremists and moving back to the center? Almost every time I’ve suggested such a ludicruous possibility, TMV readers have voiced doubts. And while the following small slice of politics doesn’t prove me right and them wrong — not by a long shot — it is encouraging, fleeting or not. Consider …
In October, the intentionally centrist Republican Leadership Council (RLC) announced a slate of municipal, county, and state candidates they would support in 2007 elections. These candidates affirmatively answered “yes” to a set of questions, including: Do you believe in limited government interference in the lives of individuals? and Do you believe that there is room in the Republican Party for different opinions on social issues?
Then, a week ago yesterday, former NJ Gov. and current RLC Co-Chair Christine Todd Whitman mass-emailed RLC-PAC donors (including yours truly) to let us know which of the RLC-supported candidates prevailed in their campaigns. She didn’t list the losers, but I went back to the original list and by my count, 61% won (22 out of 36 candidates; with 34 originally listed and two apparently added later).
Not bad. Not bad at all. Though again, while I may be naive, I’m not naive enough to pretend this is a sure-fire sign of the beginning of a GOP transformation. After all, there’s not a single federal candidate on the list … yet. (The RLC’s near-term strategy is to focus first on the party’s grassroots foundation.) Plus, virtually all of the winners were from what are, or could be described as, “purple” (if not outright “blue”) states, like Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington. (I’d really be convinced of the start of the renaissance if moderate Republicans won in places like Texas.)
Still, like I said before, it’s a start, and I hope you’ll excuse me if I grin (just slightly) about developments like these.