After what was by any measure a disastrous election cycle for Republicans in North Carolina, there has understandably been a lot of handwringing among the party's activists about what needs to be done to turn it around.
A lot of them think the solution is for the party to be more conservative. One blogger even says the party needs to 'root out it's (sic) moderates.'
Really?
In 2002 when Elizabeth Dole generally came across as a moderate, she won big. In 2008 she came across as a mean, old conservative devoted to party above state and got walloped.
Pat McCrory, another relative moderate, came closer than anyone else could have to getting elected Governor as a Republican this year. When we tested possible general election match ups in February McCrory was tied with Bev Perdue while Bill Graham and Fred Smith, each perceived as more conservative candidates, trailed her by 12 points a piece. As a Democrat, I was hoping fervently that Fred Smith would win the Republican primary. Bev would have won by double digits if he had.
The two Republicans who have managed to get elected Governor hardly projected as right wingers.
Yes, Jesse Helms was very successful for a long time. But that was in 20th century North Carolina. The state's face in the 21st century, as we saw last month, is quite a different story.
I hope the NC GOP roots out its moderates because that would ensure another generation of Democratic control in the state, as well as continued success for Democrats at the federal level. But it's hardly a winning strategy if they really want to turn their party around.
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7 comments:
And with another generation of Democrats comes all the corruption and the pay to play contracts. Just look at all the useless politically connected new roads to Democrat political contributor's businesses. While the rural counties bridges and roads in desperate need of repair crumble. I wonder if people will realize what is going on when one of those crumbling bridges collapses and kills a few people. Don't kid yourselves Purdue only won on Obama's coattails otherwise McCrory would have been elected.
Anonymous, please explain why zero Clinton officials were arrested for actual malfeasance of their job whereas over a hundred Reagan officials were.
I'd also like to remind you that the K Street Project, the widest corruption scandal in recent history, was all Republican.
William,
I don't believe the above poster mentioned a single thing about National politics, did they? Try to stay on topic. Everyone knows there have been problems with corruption in the NC Democrat party.
I don't think the poster actually mentioned a single thing about state politics either. He just mentioned "another generation of Democrats".
And by the way, it's Democrat*ic* Party. As in, having to do with democracy, something the Republans(see Bush in 2000, Norm Coleman in 2008) seem to want nothing of.
What the NC GOP needs is the "asphalt king"
William, you would be happy to know that the United States isn't a democracy, it's a representative republic. Democracy wasn't even used to describe this county by any President until Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, was elected. So using your logic, a Republican sure doesn't like democracy, because this country isn't a democracy.
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