Oh for a man of the mushy middle! How my heart yearns for one who can lay aside such divisive concepts as principle and constitutionality and just be civil. What hope is there but for a man willing to smile and compromise as the liberals erode freedom? Where is the leader who will extend a hand to the president and ignore the knives thrust into his, or her, back?

            Are not these the ones who have inspired us throughout history? Was Scotland not unified behind William Wallace’s message of moderate civility?  Was Samuel Adams not famous for his lack of extremist rhetoric? Didn’t Thomas Payne inspire a nation by seeking common ground with the British? Was not the purpose of the first tea party an attempt to compromise with the British on tax policy?  Surely no one like Patrick Henry would have used the inciting words liberty and death in the same sentence. Certainly Abraham Lincoln saved the republic by embracing the slave owners with the stirring refrain “why can’t we all just get along”. Didn’t Reagan inspire the nation by…? I think you get my point. To quote Braveheart’s Wallace “men do not follow titles [or moderates] they follow courage.”   

            I believe Webster’s should define a moderate politician as “one who surrenders by the pound the freedoms liberals seek to devour by the ton” moderate voters however are in a different category all together. If indeed the Republicans wish to win over moderate Democrats perhaps they should simply remember what the popular non deplume for them is: Reagan Democrats. Most Democrats while they may not be willing to go as far as agreeing with the nasty old Republicans do not prescribe to the High taxation and radical Government controls promoted by the far left. Further, moderate Democrats love this country. I submit they are more likely to vote for a conservative with an uncompromising “love America” message than for a catering candidate endeavoring to say what they think the voter wants to hear, especially one who does not contrast himself to an administration left of Mao. To prove the point, I have yet to hear a moderate Democrat called a McCain democrat.

            Independents are another sticky wicket. With Republicans and Democrats nearly even in the country this small percent of voters not identifying with either the major parties or a third party become a sort of Holy Grail to those seeking high office. Conventional wisdom says to “go moderate” and both parties have tried this to some extent. Liberals are better at hiding who they are so they have had success promising to govern from the middle with a “wink, wink, nod, nod” to the far left. Believing in integrity, we conservatives can’t copy this strategy so we send out real moderates and watch the Dole’s and McCain’s of the world get chewed up and spit out by alienating their own base and failing to attract independents.

            Shall we go back to what works? First of all there are three main groups of independents. First you have those who do not identify with the Democrat party because they believe the party not liberal enough. Unless we are willing to drop the Republican national platform and run on the Communist Manifesto we are not likely to win these voters. Second are those who do not wish to identify with the Republican Party because it is not conservative enough or because it has failed to stand up for conservative values in the past. Good luck bringing them on board by moving to the left to the infamous middle ground. Finally the largest group of independents does not associate with either party because they agree with some basic ideas of each party. These voters will tend to vote for the best candidate rather then for the ideological views of the candidate. This is where men of the mushy middle fall short. To win these voters a clear reasoned message is required, a strong stand may be more important than what the stand is, and common ground is likely again to be American exceptionalism. “I may not be pro-life” says this independent, “but I will vote for the pro-life guy because he wants to do away with Obamacare and give us back our freedom to choose our own healthcare.”

            Strength, freedom, and leadership are the winning issues that will draw moderate and independent voters back to the Republican Party. We also should keep in mind we are not running against centrist Democrats. Even a voter who leans slightly left will does not likely support the radical transformation of America as proposed by Obama, Reid, and Pelosi. Independents are fleeing the sinking ship “Obama” in droves and it is up to us to give them a starkly contrasted boat to swim to.

            If we take our example from Adams, Henry, Lincoln, and Reagan we won’t go too far wrong.

            Until next time, keep on the firing line.