Moving The Center, Not Moving Toward The Center
By Jim Lynch on Nov 14, 2008 in 2010, 2012, Featured, Politics
John Hawkins examines a National Review piece by James Gimpel. Here is a bit of the flavor of Gimpel’s work:
A campaign doesn’t move toward them [centrist or moderate voters], but instead attempts to inspire them to come in the candidate’s direction. The incoherent center moves to the left or to the right, inspired by the candidate’s enthusiasm and the enthusiasm of his supporters. It is foolish for the candidate to move to the center, because the center is never a fixed position to move toward.
Moving centrists toward one’s candidacy is not a process that hinges on taking the right policy stands, either. Instead, it involves the enthusiasm and social contagion that builds around exciting candidates. We know from several volumes of political-science research that less-informed voters commonly substitute someone else’s judgment for their own. That someone else is often a spouse, workmate, or neighbor knowledgeable and enthusiastic about one of the candidates. Support for a candidate spreads through social influence processes.
I believe the case could be made that moving toward the center does nothing more than move the center. When either the left or right changes their focus those in the middle also shift so that they remain in the “center”. Conversely, moving toward your base could, I believe, move the center in your direction as well.
Here is Hawkin’s take as it relates to the Republican party:
The GOP no longer has the courage of their conservative principles and so, on many of their core principles, they offer up nothing but mush.
In other words, we’re a small government, cost cutting, law and order, party of the middle class and honest government that supports big government, ever increasing deficits, illegal immigration, tolerates corruption, and doesn’t offer much to the middle class.
People wonder why small government and cutting deficit spending doesn’t appear to be all that popular with the American people right now. Well, could it be because the same Republican politicians who are talking up “small government” have brought us large deficits, the Medicare Prescription Drug benefit, and are nationalizing our banks as part of a ridiculous, unnecessary bailout?
If the Republicans in Washington don’t even believe in their own party’s principles, is it any surprise that moderates don’t either?
No, it’s not.
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