Bold Colors Win the Day
We have often heard mention of Ronald Reagan’s speech about “bold colors” and not “pale pastels” in which he encouraged Conservatives to draw clear distinctions between themselves and the Liberal movement. There are some in the Republican Party who long derided this philosophy as “divisive” and claimed that this style of conservatism “could not win”.
However, according to a The New Republic article, this tactic is not only working, but working brilliantly.
The Pew Research Study cited by The New Republic indicates that voters are, by and large, identifying their philosophy as conservative. In other words, by being bold in our beliefs, via the TEA Party movement and other recent activism, we have seen a public shift in our direction.
It would seem that Ken Cuccinelli-style conservatism is more “mainstream” than many would like to admit.
Category: Catch-All
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Do you think this is a lasting “mainstreamization” of bold conservatism or a temporary reaction to the extreme liberalism of the Obama Administration? These polls seem to fluctuate over the years based on the issue(s) du jour. (I’m not disagreeing with you, just trying to dig a little deeper to see if we can find some long-term trends.)
But is the Tea Party movement really “far to the right” of the Republican party, as the article states? It seems to me that on social issues, many Tea Party folks take a stance closer to the Democrats (or closer to what would be a true conservative stance): e.g., not giving a hoot about gay marriage. I was just talking to a 96-year-old woman who identifies with the Tea Party, and on abortion and gay rights she fell squarely on the more liberal side (pro-choice, pro-equal-rights).
Many folks I’ve met identify themselves as Democrats or Independents (though they are pro-small-gov’t, and are fiscal conservatives) precisely because they cannot stomach the Ken Cuccinellis of the Republican party. Perhaps on fiscal issues, many of us see eye-to-eye with the AG, but on social issues, he is as far as east from west for most. Republicans must re-learn what Mr. Jefferson said, “In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.” If we do this, we will find the influx of voters from the Obama backlash doesn’t depart the party by February.
[...] out yesterday, Cuccinelli represents a large portion of Virginians who welcome his refreshing “bold color”-type approach to carrying out the duties his [...]
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Jason,
I think that it depends on several various factors. Throughout history we have seen ideologies gain a long term “mainstream” status (i.e. Jeffersonian Republicanism, Jacksonian Democracy, Lincoln Republicanism, New Deal coalition, etc…)
All of these have something in common in that they clearly stated their philosophy while putting it in terms that people could understand. When these ideologies received criticism, they did not break under the pressure, as a result they had a significant influence on history.