USA Today columnist DeWayne Wickham picked up on the Mark Parkinson story, turning the former Kansas GOP chairman’s defection into a postscript to Thomas Frank’s 2004 postcard from the state’s political landscape, “What’s the Matter With Kansas?”
Parkinson, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ new running mate, was quoted in the column as saying: “What’s happened in Kansas, and what’s attracted me and excited me about serving on this ticket is that the person that’s captured (the political middle) of Kansas is Gov. Sebelius.”
To which Wickham added, “And that’s got to worry Republicans all over this country. Just as Kansas was once a bellwether state for the ascendancy of Republican power, what’s happening there now may be evidence of its decline.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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6 Comments
Both Republicans and Democrats are moving towards the center. Too bad the extreme of the wings controls the party.
If the moderates of both Party can form a 3rd centrist party, I think both the leftist Democrats and the rightist Republicans would start to worry.
Joe,How would you define a “rightist” Republican? How would they differ from a moderate Republican? Don’t know if there is a correct answer, just wondering your views.
There are many Republicans that are what you called “Fiscal Conservatives”, but don’t care or take a very light stance on social issues that are controversial such as abortion, stem-cell research, gay marriage, death penalty, prayer in schools, intelligent design, assited suicide and etc.
They are known as budget hawks and they tend to be a little more callous towards bleeding heart issues such as income redistribution towards the poor, enviromental concerns, and corporate litigation on liability.
Smaller government, less government, pro-capitalist kind of thinking.
But there are Republicans that don’t care about being fiscally responsible and only care about the controversial social issues. The Brownbacks as an example.
Being a moderate Republican is probably best explained as a person who is less incline to worry about social issues.
A moderate Democrats are probably best explained as a person who is more inclined to help businesses and bit on the capitalist side. People like Sebelius, Bill Clinton, Lieberman and etc.
Moderates can cooperate and compromise on issues. The others on the far left and far right cannot.
“Being a moderate Republican is probably best explained as a person who is less inclined to worry about social issues.”
So, social conservatives are more “rightist” in your view? SCs seem to be interested in dictating what people’s behavior should be — which would make them seem more “leftist” to some. But, I agree with your take on the subject, Joe.
Joe,I’ve noticed that in his last speech that Rove portrayed the Bush administration as “center right” – I can’t remember him ever trying to spin their approach as centrist before. I am wondering if he is starting to worry that Bush, et al.’s pandering to the base is making them less attractive to the moderates of the GOP.
Joe, Now tell me it isn’t so………..Ed
“Weeks after a British magazine published a long article by two American professors titled “The Israel Lobby,” the outrage continued to howl through mainstream U.S. media.
A Los Angeles Times op-ed article by Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Max Boot helped to set a common tone. He condemned a working paper by professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt that was excerpted last month in the London Review of Books.”
http://www.itszone.co.uk/zone0/viewtopic.php?t=49800&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=&