Right on schedule, a small group of GOP centrists started wagging their fingers at values voters this week, blaming them for every lost opportunity on November 4. In the post election dust up, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) say they want to revisit a losing strategy for Republicans moving Left. "The answer," they claim, "is not to become a more conservative, combative party," but to acquiesce on the GOP's core issues in favor of energy and the environment.
Christine Todd Whitman, co-chair of the Republican Leadership Council, joined them in a blistering op ed that blames the pro-family movement for everything from lost congressional seats to John McCain's campaign defeat. She claims Republicans are "hostage to social fundamentalists" and damns the party to a "long time in the political wilderness" unless it rejects values voters. She cites the selection of Sarah Palin, a "sop" to social conservatives, as evidence of the problem.
The unpleasant reality for Whitman is that Palin was the most compelling part of the Republican ticket not in spite of her pro-family beliefs, but because of them. In a Rasmussen poll, more Republicans actually believed that Palin was the "right choice" (71%) for the GOP ticket than John McCain (65%). There is no better rebuttal to these disgruntled partisans than passage of the state marriage amendments. Despite what the centrists claim, it was a social issue not energy or the environment that delivered the most sweeping, bipartisan victory in the entire election.
Republicans are in this wilderness, not because they spent the last six years embracing limited government and moral values, but because the two parties were almost indistinguishable. The future of the GOP depends on strong leaders who will embrace a positive message of faith and family. Only then will the GOP win the respect of voters.
Source: FRC, Rasmussen Corp
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