NYT: G.O.P. Centrists to Speak at Convention, but Will They Be Heard?

[DeepModem Mom]

G.O.P. Centrists to Speak at Convention, but Will They Be Heard?
By CARL HULSE

Published: August 23, 2004


....the convention prominence being given to politicians like Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, George E. Pataki of New York and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York is fueling a debate over the role of Republicans who hew more to the center.

Those who once might have been called Rockefeller Republicans say the prime-time slots set aside to present a centrist image show that the leadership knows the party must broaden its appeal to retain the White House. But they worry about their real influence in a party dominated by conservatives at a time when the ranks of House moderates are thinning and an activist group zeros in on candidates it brands RINO's, Republican in Name Only.

"Frankly, if the president wins walking away with this, maybe the country is in a different place than where the moderate Republicans are,'' said Christie Whitman, the former New Jersey governor and Bush administration official who is writing a book titled "It's My Party Too." "If he loses, it is an absolute validation of the fact that you cannot be a national party if you are excluding people.''

Mrs. Whitman makes it clear that she does not want President Bush, whom she served as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to lose. But she is not alone in urging party leaders to consider the contributions of moderates at moments other than when it makes strategic sense....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/23/politics/campaign/23moderates.html

[Moderator]

1. DeepModemMom

Please snip your articles. Per DU rules only four paragraphs should be copied. Even if you snip some paragraphs, you have been posting too much of the articles.

Thanks

[DeepModem Mom]

2. OK -- sorry, Mod --

[OKNancy]

3. No problem

You have time to edit.

Edit: OOps see I made a mistake too. Didn't punch the "moderator" button.

It just saves us mods and the administration a lot of time if we can keep these copyright rules in effect.

[thebigidea]

4. boy, I'm sure Whitman's book will be just greeaaaat.

Who is she kidding, anyway?

Nice job with the EPA, moron.

Nice job with my state, idjit.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. Yet another Republican contemplates the unimaginable: a Bush loss

This convention will be more Bush bait-and-switch.

Shows a moderate face, or sloganeers "compassionate conservative" to hide his real face.

Just like Vietnam, given an opportunity to show up, he sends others. Bush will be in New York for less than a day and not even overnight.

[leesa]

6. Who cares? The so-called centrists are immersed in fascism as well

Beat everyone bloody...ask questions later. RNC...the celebration of ignorance and greed.

[Hamlette]

7. What caused our country to go so far right?

The better question is what causes our country to elect such right wing leaders? If you read national opinion polls, we as a country hold liberal views but elect the most right wing nut cases.

I live in Utah, when Gov. Leavitt was "elevated" to head of the EPA, his Lt. Gov. Oleen Walker became gov. Going into the state GOP convention she had an 83% approval rating in the state. She would have been the first republican I voted for in my life. Defeated at convention.

It doesn't feel like democracy anymore.

[PATRICK]

8. A clear example

of how weak pols who represent the majority and sanity are not only powerless but pollyanna dupes to ruthless extremists from the right.
They are personally going to look bad and/or act very bad in the process of supporting their own humiliating and disastrous subjugation.

And they are not many, not very good, and very compromised all. By the way, our own party has shown some on this rubber spine tied into knots to some degree as well, which is why the majority of Americans should feel very alarmed and discontent with leadership in the nation in general. The world too is not immune as real democracy is a fleeting thing in the face of actual power.

[DeepModem Mom]

9. "democracy...a bonsai tree in the house of the powerful"

In my more pessimistic moments, I recall a sentence from an odd source, an old travel book, "Europe 101: History and Art for the Traveler." Discussing the Doges of Venice: "Throughout history, democracy has been a bonsai tree in the house of the powerful -- it looks nice, and when it grows too big you simply cut it back." Think we've got some pruning going on here in the US of A --

[AndyTiedye]

10. Those Who Stand Up To Them Have Their Plane Fall Out of the Sky...

...or get anthrax in the mail.

Paul Wellstone can oppose them no longer, he's dead.
Same with Mel Carnahan.
Sen. Daschle no longer dares to oppose them, and neither do most
of the remaining Democrats in Washington.
We have no power to protect them from being murdered if they stand up for us.