Quote:
Originally Posted by lighthousekeeper
I wonder what the point is of running, if it's doomed to fail. This isn't directed only to Cruz, but other candidates who seem satisfied to only court a small minority of voters. I'm sitting here as a moderate wondering, "is anyone even trying to win my vote?"
|
This is a bad year for moderates. In the GOP, moderates have been in positions of power for so long that the more conservative base is beyond frustrated, they're irate, so the division between Bush/Kasich/Christie/Rubio is coming at ta really bad time. If one of those 4 would emerge as viable and pick up the support of the others, we'd have a race ... but nope. To be honest, this is what many conservatives have felt for years, as multiple candidates have divided the support and moderates got the nomination instead. It's a reversal of the usual for the GOP.
Even for the Dems ... hard-left Clinton and extreme-left Sanders? The moderates aren't doing so well over there, either.
But I take issue with the "small minority of voters" comment. Conservatives aren't a small minority of the GOP. And socialists aren't a small minority in the Dem Party any more, either. Both likely represent the most vocal, active, and engaged base in their respective parties.
Running to the middle didn't help Presidents McCain or Romney. And at least talking like a hard lefty gave Obama a boost. I think both parties are banking on the notion that gaining the "middle" won't do you any good if you don't secure your base (see Romney, who trounced McCain among moderates, but lost his base ... and lost the election).