Even Republicans Becoming Liberals

There’s another sign that the era of conservativism is ending and the pendulum is moving back towards liberal values in much of the country. The New York Times reports that many Republican candidates for governor are stressing their liberal beliefs. This is “particularly pervasive this year, as Republicans seek to distance themselves from an unpopular president and to respond to what is widely recognized as polarization fatigue among many voters.” The article provides several examples:

Mr. Schwarzenegger, who six months ago fashioned himself a Republican reformer bent on hobbling entrenched Democratic institutions, is not just tolerating positions generally associated with liberal candidates. Rather, he is using them as the centerpiece of his re-election campaign, marking the first time in a generation that a Republican governor here has clung to the left during a re-election fight.

The strategy is not unique to Mr. Schwarzenegger’s campaign. Across the nation’s 36 races for governor, Republican candidates in states heavy with moderate or Democratic voters are playing up their liberal positions on issues including stem cell research, abortion and the environment, while remaining true to their party’s platform on taxes and streamlining government.

In Massachusetts, Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, who is seeking to fill the seat that will be vacated by Gov. Mitt Romney, has openly split with Mr. Romney on abortion rights and stem cell research; her views are shared by the Republican candidate for governor in Illinois, Judy Baar Topinka, who also supports civil unions for same-sex couples.

In Maryland, the Republican incumbent, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., is pushing for increasing state aid for programs for the disabled and imposing tighter restrictions on coal-fired plants; the Republican governor of Hawaii, Linda Lingle, opposes the death penalty. In Connecticut, Gov. M. Jodi Rell also parts ways with the Republican Party on civil unions and financing for stem cell research.

6 Comments

  1. 1
    Pamela says:

    Many Republican candidates are angling for votes.

  2. 2
    Ron Chusid says:

    Candidates of both parties are always “angling for votes.” The interesting thing is that, after years of demonizing liberals, Republicans now see their chances as being better running as liberals (at least on social issues) and by running away from Bush.

  3. 3
    kj says:

    I think quite a few Republicans are finally waking up to the fact that their party has been hijacked by the NeoConArtists. It’s been quite an insidious takeover. Smooth as a snake slinkin’ in the grass.

  4. 4
    kj says:

    What is that old saw?
    “Lie down with dee dogs, wake up with dee fleas?”

    Well, the earlier a person gets up, the faster they’re able to shake themselves free of dee fleas.

  5. 5
    kj says:

    NeoConArts and Fleas and Dogs and Snakes in the Grass.
    Anyone else have any metaphors for BushInc and the PNAC? LOL!

  6. 6
    Ron Chusid says:

    To a certain degree the neocon take over was a lucky break for them. Bush got the 2000 nomination because he had his father’s name. At the time it was unclear what type of Republicans would dominate his administration.

    If Bush hadn’t picked Cheney to search for the best possible running mate, and if Dick Cheney hadn’t told him that Dick Cheney was the best possible running mate, things could have turned out very different. I don’t think Bush has the depth to really set the agenda by himself. If he had gone with his father’s more moderate allies, instead of Cheney and Rumsfeld, the adminstration, and as a consequence the party, could have been much more moderate.

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