The defection of Arlen Specter is still drawing stories bashing the Republican Party as too conservative. On Thursday night's NewsHour on PBS, correspondent Kwame Holman announced "Specter's departure from the GOP has reignited the debate over whether the Republican Party has lost ground with the public because it has become too ideologically conservative and unwilling to listen to moderates in its ranks."
The soundbite count was very slanted, with nine snippets of moderates decrying the party's tilt (counting one from the departing Specter, since it's his rationale for party-switching) to just two clips from conservative Sen. Jim DeMint.
Holman suggested the ranks of Senate moderates had shrunk to just the two females from Maine, even as they used "centrist conservative" Lindsey Graham to bolster the Specter narrative. There were four soundbites from Sen. Susan Collins, two from Sen. Graham, and two from Sen. Olympia Snowe, as Holman touted her New York Times op-ed piece:
HOLMAN: Olympia Snowe of Maine, another Senate GOP moderate, says she was shocked and saddened by Specter's surprise defection, and she blamed her party in a New York Times op-ed the next day, saying, "In my view, the political environment that has made it inhospitable for a moderate Republican in Pennsylvania is a microcosm of a deeper, more pervasive problem that places our party in jeopardy nationwide."
Snowe says the current conservative dominance of the GOP is not consistent with the ideologically diverse party that first elected her to Congress in 1978.
SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE, R-Maine: We didn't question each other's credentials. We'd see -- we were Republicans. We're under this one big umbrella. And what can we do to figure it out? But, obviously, if they have this litmus test, it's going to drive a number of people out. I think that is a losing strategy from all perspectives.
Speaking of a "losing strategy," PBS's Holman never discussed how the number of moderate Republicans in Congress diminished -- they were mostly defeated by Democrats in general elections, not by conservatives in primary races. If going toward the center is a winning strategy, doesn't the declining number of moderates offer a counterpoint worth reporting?
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.
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My, my......
May 8, 2009 - 15:23 ET by Paul Atreidestheir "concern" over the state of the GOP is touching. It reminds me of the fox being concerned over the chicken coop knowing that there are some snakes inside.
Problem? We don't have no
May 8, 2009 - 15:26 ET by QueenMumProblem? We don't have no stinkin' problem. The two-party system is what keeps us free. And the left-leaning Repubs need to stop and smell the manure.
Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of the tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men. - Ayn Rand
Tim
May 8, 2009 - 15:30 ET by NorthCoasterYou're right, the left leaning Republicans got picked off, leaving fewer moderates in the party.b
This will continue to happen anywhere that there is little or no distinction between the parties
Liberal dictionary
May 8, 2009 - 16:16 ET by motherbeltLiberal dictionary definition of a "moderate" Republican:
One who sides and votes with Democrats most of the time.
And if all Republicans become "moderates" and vote with the Democrats, please explain how that "saves" the Republican Party.
They might say "Wow, that sucks!" But at least they'll say "Wow!" -Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes
SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE,
May 8, 2009 - 15:41 ET by bigtimerSEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE, R-Maine: We didn't question each other's credentials. We'd see -- we were Republicans. We're under this one big umbrella. And what can we do to figure it out? But, obviously, if they have this litmus test, it's going to drive a number of people out. I think that is a losing strategy from all perspectives.
Please Snowe...don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out...take Collins with you...we couldn't be so lucky.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
bt, Snowe and Collins represent fewer than 1,400,000 people...
May 9, 2009 - 11:07 ET by ThalpyBt, Snowe and Collins represent fewer that 1,400,000 people. I realize that numbers don't tell the whole story, but numbers do indicate whether you are representative or not. Snowe and Collins, along with Specter and McCain do not represent conservatism. These Senators support immigration reform, affirmative action lending, excessive government spending, and a number of issues that align them with Democrats. They spend more time running for office than doing quality work on our behalf. Lost to the idiot from NPR is the fact that Collins, Snowe, and Specter voted for the stimulus package. Snowe actually praised Obama for his "aggressive and ambitious agenda." Would that be government intervention in every part of every American life?
While Specter isn't running around the world as the useful idiot for Islam(16 trips to Syria alone since 1984), he's undermining our NSA intercepts program. I think Mark Levin said it best when he said, "Specter is a stubborn man unencumbered with a fundamental understanding of the Constitution."
We don't want or need a "big umbrella." Remember, when you try to please all, you please none.
Here we go again. This is
May 8, 2009 - 15:55 ET by mattmHere we go again. This is just a smear on conservatives and an attempt to draw attention away from the fact that it is the Democrats who are the extreme, litmus-testing, radical, mean-spirited, exclusionary ones. When do THEY listen to the moderates in their ranks?????
The fact is that it is the conservatives who are liberal (in the true sense of that word), the liberals who are totalitarians, and the moderates are simply trying to hang on to their well-paying political careers, al a Benedict Arlen.
"...if they have this litmus test..."
May 8, 2009 - 15:59 ET by Prester JohnWhat litmus test? This is the same crap we are hearing here in northern Virginia. The moderates never mention specific issues, they only talk about a "litmus test" (which is usually code for abortion and is now coming to mean gay marriage).
I submit that very little has changed platform wise in the GOP since Reagan. It is the fact that the Dems (and much of the country) have veered so far to the lunatic Left, that the GOP appears "extreme", even though nothing has changed.
And of course the moderates want to be loved and in the good graces of the MSM so off they go to grovel on the Sunday talk shows.
What's the Confusion?
May 8, 2009 - 16:27 ET by gopcongressObviously, the media is not clueless in this regard. They know doggone well that the real reason is not that republicans are too far right, it is because moderates are too far left for the party. The reason is that they want to ensure that THEIR party's "centrists" don't move to the right.
Normally, this tactic can somewhat work. In other words, pretend to be a typical member of the other party, then portray themselves as "making a reasonable conclusion." The democrats have heretofore been the masters of such a strategy, and think that they can just continue this direction.
But they are fooling themselves. By using this strategy in their formerly mainstream venue, they are projecting their fears of actually not convicing more people who have seen the ravages and the damage caused by the Big O and company.
When real conservatives are able to present their views to the average small business owner (the key, in my opinion), this will overcome a bunch of malarkey down the road and lead to a sweep in 2010 that will make 1994 seem like a "minor shift to the right."
______________________
Moderate... Democrat... Liberal... Progressive... Socialist... Communist—The progression is clear as day.
Liberal Myths
May 8, 2009 - 16:39 ET by slickwillie2001Note the liberal myth being made right before our eyes, -that Specter was forced out of the Republican Party. Of course he was not. He admitted on TV that he left purely because he thought he had a better chance of winning reelection in Pennsylvania as a democratic.
Specter for all his faults could have stayed in the Republican Party for the rest of his life, as long as he won elections in his state.
The great good that Benedict Arlen has done...
May 8, 2009 - 19:22 ET by serfer62Now there will be no defections by the rinos. Further the GOP, if they had the balls, could degrade the rinos if they misstep with committee reassignments etc
Comparing Specter to Benedict Arnold is an insult.......
May 8, 2009 - 20:47 ET by big.league.slider.... to Benedict Arnold. Benedict Arnold may have ultimately turned traitor, but prior to that he was a great contributor to the Revolutionary cause. Just what has Arlen Specter ever done, besides furthering his own personal interests?
And who ultimately has done more damage to the freedom and liberty of American citizens- Benedict Arnold or Arlen Specter? In total, General Arnold's accomplishments in support of the Revolution outweighed his later act of treason.
The same can't be said of Specter. Specter took a solemn oath upon entering Congress: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and
domestic". He has failed to carry out the obligations of that oath with virtually every Congressional vote he has cast over the last 28 years.
If the RNC leadership had any stones, they would terminate the party membership of "moderates" like Snowe, Collins, Graham, Schwarzenegger, etc. Being a GOP cardholder should be an earned privilege, not a "right".
Obamanomics is economic fascism.
serfer - I WISH the leadership would do a little arm-twisting!
May 8, 2009 - 20:48 ET by Cape ConservativeDon't know what Maine has to offer to run against these two RINOs but if the RNC supports them (as it did with Lincoln Chaffee and Arlen Specter) against a conservative running against them in a primary, it will only confirm my decision to withhold any $$ to the national party.
Our support is now focused on the local level - and believe it or not, thankfully we happen to live in an area of this bluest of blue states that has some pretty strong Republicans ;-)
This comment comes from a proud Tea Party attendee, otherwise known as a RWRE!! It is no dishonor to be in a minority in the cause of liberty and virtue ~ Sam Adams
To all those who say the
May 8, 2009 - 22:37 ET by CooltomTo all those who say the GOP must change I would like to ask them, "Did the messasge of the Dems ever change when they were out of power?"
They haven't changed a thing since 1972.
You apparently are unfamiliar
May 8, 2009 - 22:49 ET by JerYou apparently are unfamiliar with the DLC and Clinton's "centrism".
Jer
Funny how Clinton's
May 8, 2009 - 23:05 ET by CooltomFunny how Clinton's ''centrism'' became the same old full blown liberalism after he was elected. The only time he did anything centrist is when Dick Morris was able to talk him into going along with the GOP to avoid political suicide.
The DLC was just a personal power base used to sidetrack his rivals.
Neither funny nor true,
May 9, 2009 - 15:25 ET by JerNeither funny nor true, Cooltom...
Clinton campaigned on "centrist" issues, and his first four years in office--with some notable exceptions--largely reflected that theme: cabinet appointments, deficit reduction, efforts to balance the budget, reducing the size of the federal government, NAFTA, monetary policy etc. Health reform, Whitewater and related "scandals", the "gays in the military" bungle, Somalia and Waco disasters set the stage for the GOP congressional takeover in 1994. Consequently, he moved even more to the center during his second term.
Jer
Moderate Logic
May 8, 2009 - 22:41 ET by KC MulvilleAs several others have mentioned, we dance around what's really going on here, and there's a reason why people dance.
Republicans are usually considered fiscal conservatives first, and then they split on social issues. The people who oppose abortion and gay marriage are considered frothing hard righters, and the people who support those issues are ... [sound of angels singing to harps] "moderates." Of course, from the Democrat view, the moderates are the inverse; moderate Democrats oppose abortion.
So by what bizarre logic do GOP moderates argue that the party has to move to the left on social issues? That's blaming the wrong cause. And doing their self-serving best, the liberal media is trying desperately to convince the Un-Attentive that social issues are the drag on the party.
If people fall for this nonsense, they deserve what they get.
Is it just me,
May 9, 2009 - 13:41 ET by boomerconor has anyone else noticed? Conservative female commentators make coherent observations and intelligent statements, providing backup, reasoning and sound logic.
Plus they're just dynamite looking!
On the other hand (channels), the liberal female commentators just seem to get their panties in a wad, and stand there babbling and bitching about everything.
And to the last one, they are all as ugly as a mud fence!
I suppose that could slant one's outlook on life?
I'm just sayin...