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"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource."
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A Right Turn Holds Perils For Bush
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Party
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| Contributor | RP |
| Last Edited | RP May 19, 2006 06:42pm |
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| Category | Analysis |
| Media | Newspaper - Washington Post |
| News Date | Saturday, May 20, 2006 12:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | As they watch President Bush's approval ratings tumble, conservative activists are offering a surefire strategy for presidential recovery: Bush should move to the right and "rally his base."
There's one problem with this approach: It could do the president's party far more harm than good, even within its own ranks. The conservative view ignores the roots of the president's difficulties in the disaffection of moderate voters who are more concerned with performance -- or the lack thereof -- than ideology.
Bush's best shot at a quick jolt upward in his approval ratings is among conservatives in his own party, who are already more inclined to support him than anyone else and might come home in response to a presidential tilt rightward. But Rep. Chris Shays, a moderate from Connecticut, noted that many of the House Republicans most endangered in this fall's election -- himself included -- are moderates who would be hurt if his party and his president moved farther right.
"His going to the right to move up from 35 percent is not going to help us out," Shays, speaking for his fellow moderates, said in an interview. "It doesn't help me out for him to appeal to his conservative base."
On the other hand, many of the House's staunchest conservatives -- such as Mike Pence of Indiana and John Shadegg of Arizona -- want Bush to emphasize conservative themes, including deep domestic spending cuts. But a frustrated Shays notes that conservatives urging the president to appeal to his base represent solidly Republican districts.
"Pence's election isn't in jeopardy," he said. "Shadegg's election isn't in jeopardy." |
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