Chapter 78.1: Middle of the Road

It has begun, as I believed it would. The political parties — or at least the media — in the United States are seeing a shift, not merely away from Republicans but also toward the center. In short, the number of independents is increasing.

Indeed, in the New York Times story I've linked to above is this very interesting paragraph: "Over the same period, the share of the electorate that registers as independent has grown at a faster rate than Republicans or Democrats in 12 states. The rise has been so significant that in states like Arizona, Colorado and North Carolina, nonpartisan voters essentially constitute a third party." (My emphasis)

I've argued with friends who enjoy political debates that the Republican party will undergo a significant shift as moderates wedge themselves away from conservatives. But the Democratic party has seen a shift as well as more centrist Democrats (I count myself as one) find themselves less comfortable with the more left-leaning liberals. To my eyes, that will be the deepest chasm that emerges if there is an Obama administration — especially since it's highly likely to be accompanied by a Democratic majority in both bodies of Congress.

I'll leave it at that for now, but this is a topic I'll return to.

Chapter 72: That's What I've Been Saying...

Finally, there's something I can point to that supports what I've been telling people about John McCain: He's a conservative, not a moderate. He's probably more conservative than President Bush in many areas.

Of course, I could have done the investigative work myself and misleadingly taken credit for espousing this viewpoint -- which is not exactly new, merely not commonly reported. But why bother right now? I'm not voting for him in the upcoming primary. I can wait for the national election if he's the Republican nominee, which I now think is how it'll work out. I've said before that McCain is a noble politician, and I still believe that. I respect this man. I'll have time to do the research.

Anyway, back to my point. The New York Times published the op-ed by Adrian Woolridge that I linked to above and added an "Editorial Observer" opinion piece by Francis X. Clines about the senator and his appeal to South Carolina primary voters.

I wish I had written this paragraph from Woolridge's piece:

There is a reason Republican primary voters are so confused by Mr. McCain. He is a Republican who is disliked by the hard core of his party but loved by many independents and Democrats. He is almost universally regarded as a moderate and a maverick, a combination that independents love and conservatives loathe. The trouble with this widespread understanding of Mr. McCain’s politics is that it is entirely wrong.

He goes on to explain that McCain's squabbles with other conservatives have been primarily to battle for principles he believes are not conservative enough. "He opposed torture because he thought it was a violation of the American tradition of human life and human rights," Woolridge writes. (As a moderate, I agree with him.) McCain's opposition to Bush's tax cuts were because he felt Congress was spending too much (that's a discussion for another time), and he promoted immigration reform "because he thought the 'conservative' alternative (encouraging illegal immigrants to go home) is unworkable economically and dubious morally." Yeah, I can see that, too.

What I like about McCain is that he is intelligent and takes reasoned stands on issues. Democrats could learn a lot from him, and I hope they do. And fast, because I think one of them is going to be running against him for president throughout the summer and into November.