Andrea Batista Schlesinger

Memo to Ken Mehlman: GOP Must Move Left

Tuesday's interim elections were a victory for Democrats: from Virginia to New Jersey, California to Long Island, voters put Democrats into office and rejected conservative-backed ballot proposals. Even the high-profile reelection of Republican New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was really a re-election of a closet Democrat who spoke out against the Bush Administration on issues like the repeal of gun regulations and the appointment of conservative Supreme Court Justice John Roberts.

The only way that Republicans are going to win is if they move left.

The lesson couldn't be clearer. Move left, and you win. Bloomberg is to the left, he won. Corzine left, won. If the Republicans have any hope of holding on their power, they will heed the significant lessons of this off-year election that garnered barely any voter turn out and make a significant shift in their values, policy positions, and outreach strategy.

...

Sound like a load of crap?

That's because it is.

Yet, if it were Republicans who held onto key governorships after bitter elections, who swept through traditionally Democratic counties and beat back ballot propositions from a previously popular celebrity Democratic governor, there would be memos a'writin', and commentators a'spinnin' and pollsters a'pollin all making the case that to win, Democrats must move to the middle.

(In fact, they seem to argue this regardless of the election results.)

But while some analysts point out President Bush's unpopularity hampered GOP candidates, can you imagine Right wing think tanks publishing policy papers urging them to abandon their core values to win elections?

But the left does this all the time.

We forget that the goal isn't to move the left to the center, it's to make progressive ideals appeal to the middle.

Progressive candidates can and will win. Just look at Progressive Majority, an organization out there creating a farm team of progressive candidates. Under the skilled leadership of Gloria Totten, they are out there identifying promising leadership, supporting their candidacies, and, most importantly, winning.

Stay left, left. It's the only way we'll ever be right.

Andrea Batista Schlesinger: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 3:11 PM, Nov 10, 2005 in Democracy | Media | Progressive Agenda
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