Tag Archives: conservative

Moderation

On Sunday, January 22, Bob Schieffer did a commentary on definitions during his 30 minute Face the Nation program. Earlier in the program, he spoke at length with South Carolina primary winner Newt Gingrich. The commentary did not reflect on Speaker Gingrich but was about politics.

Schieffer discussed the labels used in politics: moderate, liberal, conservative. I sat laughing as I readied to go for a run. Schieffer pointed out that moderate, by definition, may actually be what the nation needs or is really looking for in a president. Conservative, despite many who are called that using the word moderate as a derogative term, is defined as moderate in point of view.

What one word is used in both politics and health care, yet with extremely different meanings? Moderate or moderation. Do we not want to eat those rich foods in moderation? Yet, it seems we do not want – according to the recent name calling during the GOP primary process – a presidential nominee that is moderate in point of view.

If a candidate can communicate a moderate point of view on most issues, my guess is that will appeal to more people that a democratic or republican point of view on issues.

http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/cbsnews_player_embed.swf


Political Musings

I must be psychic.  Just this morning I was thinking I should be – instead of blogging about my youngest child going south for the weekend - blogging about my thoughts on which party is going to get wise first.  I truly believe this is going to be the telltale sign of who will end up winning the general election in November.

The infighting and sniping at each other has become continuous in both the democratic and the republican primaries now that both are down to two people.  The democrats, as the race seems so much closer by the numbers, are getting nastier quicker but the republicans – and that should be read the frontrunner, John McCain, as Mike Huckabee seems to be running a fairly clean campaign – are also getting in on it.

Does either party not realize this is not what voters want?  I don’t think the voters mind a candidate – even one extremely behind like Huckabee – appealing a primary result when there may have been some irregularities.  I do think that voters mind the constant personal picking that goes on between those whose policies are close to the same so there is little to differentiate between them.

It currently looks like the GOP is going to pull it together.  Mitt Romney is going to endorse John McCain.  He is going to tell the party to pull together behind the presumptive nominee.  He is going to free his delegates to go to McCain.  This is not something that a suspended campaign does.  It is what an ended campaign does. 

I find this particularly disturbing in that Romney had many problems with McCain when they were opponents.  Is it necessary to endorse someone that you have already told the public that you don’t agree with?  Is it necessary to back someone with him you disagree?  Could Romney not just ask that his delegates be freed from their allegiance to him?

Whether I agree with Romney’s endorsement or not, I do agree that the GOP needs to rally behind one candidate and not have a conservative break when that candidate is not a true conservative.


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