Sound Politics: About those "legions of Republicans"

August 27, 2008

About those "legions of Republicans"

Seattle Times editorial writer Lance Dickie thinks former Republican Congressman Jim Leach's speech to the Democratic convention last night was a big deal:

Leach was speaking for legions of Republicans who twice voted for President George Bush and can barely stand to look at themselves in the mirror. Angry and bewildered party members heard their frustrations articulated by one of their own.

Uh, time out.

Jim Leach no more spoke for large swaths of the Republican party than did Zell Miller speak for the Democratic faithful in 2004 during his speech at the Republican convention (nor will Joe Lieberman speak for fellow left-of-center souls next week in the Twin Cities).

Did Jim Leach grow away from the GOP or did the party veer from him? Did Zell Miller and Joe Lieberman change over time or did their party?

Closer to home, could Dan Evans win a modern Republican primary for statewide office? Could Scoop Jackson - forebearer of the dread neocons - do likewise for the Democrats?

Probably not.

People change. Parties evolve. Jim Leach is a down the middle moderate who would have been as comfortable in the Democratic party as some current conservative Democrats representing rural areas in Congress would be in the GOP (hint: it wouldn't be much of a leap in either case).

But if "legions of Republicans" really couldn't look themselves in the mirror then John McCain wouldn't be in a statistical dead heat with his Democratic opponent in a year that was supposed to be the next coming of post-Watergate style doom for the GOP. Not even a notable case of BDS can change that.

Posted by Eric Earling at August 27, 2008 08:30 PM | Email This

Comments

1. They (the Times) sure tried to turn it into something. But no, frankly probably not that many saw it. I saw the very beginning of it and turned it off, as I had better things to do. If he chooses to vote for Obama, great for him. It wouldn't be so great for me to do so, as Obama plans to raise income and capital gains taxes on people who earned less money than HE did last year.

Posted by: Michele on August 27, 2008 09:30 PM

2. Did Jim Leach grow away from the GOP or did the party veer from him? Did Zell Miller and Joe Lieberman change over time or did their party?

Leach and Miller and Lieberman have not changed their positions in any significant way. However, Miller and Lieberman were basically forced out of their party because of their long-held views. Leach left of his own accord.

That should tell you a lot right there.

For Leach it was more about shifting issues. Leach was always a liberal on many issues, but when he started out, his populist issues of the day were more to the right, so he was a Republican. Now the issues of the day have changed a bit. Neither the party, nor Leach, changed very much.

And to the extent the party has changed anyway, it's only been in ways that make it more like the Democrats (e.g., bigger government and more spending).

Posted by: pudge on August 27, 2008 09:59 PM

3. Jim who?

Posted by: Hinton on August 27, 2008 11:45 PM

4. Paul Begala called him a 'nothing' and a waste of convention time.

BTW, who is he?

Posted by: swatter on August 28, 2008 10:26 AM

5. I remember Leach. Left-of-center populist from Iowa. He is well-known in DC, and not much outside of it.

Posted by: pudge on August 28, 2008 11:56 AM

6. How would Lance Dickie, a Democrat, know what "large swaths of Republicans" feel about anything? Such self-conceit. Could he really be so deluded, so out of touch, as to think people take statements like that seriously? Either that or he has a very low opinion of his readers.

Posted by: stu on August 28, 2008 02:44 PM