Shifting Ideologies and Moderates

Recent polls have shown that America is beginning to move to the right, with 40% claiming to be Conservative, 21% liberal, and 38% “moderate.”

With nearly a 2-1 margin, Conservatives might see this as a cause for celebration. This has happened before- people do turn more conservative when there are difficult economic times. It might also be because the POTUS has been caught in many of his lies, and his polices are being exposed, stalled, and (hopefully) defeated. While I would certainly interpret it as encouraging, I actually think it displays a course of action. To take a further look though, I think we need to define moderate. First, this from Wikipedia:

In American politics, a moderate is an individual who holds the middle position between those generally classified as being left-wing or liberal and those seen as right-wing or conservative. An alternate definition, and one widely held among swing voters, is that a moderate is one who has firm convictions on all issues, yet some convictions fall just to the left of the spectrum and some fall just to the right i.e. centre-left and centre-right.

To many, this would be a very kind assessment. Much of the time, moderates are accused of being ideological cowards, not being able to take a stand, or even having no ideology at all. While there are certainly politicians and citizens of these types, I believe that there are additional factors to consider, such as issue specific voters, and people that may be socially liberal, and fiscally conservative, and any combination in between. The possible combinations are probably endless.

No matter what they believe or where they stand on the right-left spectrum, the fact remains that moderates showed up for Obama last fall. They made up the remaining 31% that he got at the polls (I know that these stats do not translate directly into registered voters, or even people that voted, but the fact that Obama needed them to win is still true.).

The gist for me is that many of these moderates may not really know what Conservatism is and, more importantly, why free markets, small government, and personal freedom mean more liberty and prosperity for all. Additionally, may not know how destructive socialist policies are, nor may they know the lies being perpetrated by administration. Again, the media fails in its watchdog role by refusing to cover the results of socialist policies, both here and abroad. They revise history, spin negatives into positives, and selectively ignore party affiliation when a democratic official get’s into ethical or legal hot water. In the end, I believe that many people in the “middle” are not aware of the reality of our political situation, or that they stand to lose many of their freedoms should the policies of the left be enacted.

The research I noted indicates that neither ideology has a sufficient voting bloc to win an election outright, the liberals even more so. Obviously, this explains why the POTUS appeared more moderate in his rhetoric during the campaign, and why he distanced himself from his associations with ACORN, Jeremiah Wright, and Bill Ayers. They knew what to say, and when to say it, to put the moderates at ease. Also consider that the MSM selectively covers the left in a way that ignores their failure and promotes or invents the successes, and consequently, there was a mass deception. Combine all of that with the fact that the left and the MSM browbeat Bush for eight years (And Bush did an abysmal job in explaining his positions), inducing ‘Bush fatigue.” In the end, as the saying goes, the “center did not hold.”

So where does this leave Conservatives? The facts leave us with a mission, in my opinion. If we are going to appeal to these people in the “middle,” we need to explain to them why Conservatism is the answer to today’s issues and problems. Not by creating more government and taking over people’s lives, but by removing barriers and obstacles and allowing the people to find their own way in life. Reagan was brilliant at this, as demonstrated by his complete destruction of Mondale in 1984. He was, as many noted, the “great communicator.” His success shows this much.

Reaching out to moderates, in some respects, is easier for us than it is for liberals. For one, we don’t have to lie about associations. We don’t have people on our side advocating for forced abortions, health care rationing, coercion of the public, animal rights, “end of life care” instead of medical treatment, and a host of others. We don’t have to cover up our true intentions with deceptive rhetoric, like “public option.” We can demonstrate that lower taxes and less government can benefit all Americans, because it has. Conversely we need to illustrate the failures of liberal programs at every turn. We don’t have to move in one way or another to appear to be something that we’re not. We can stay on message, and talk to the people without compromising who we are or what our policies entail.

That does not mean that there are no challenges. The media leans to the left, and will always distort our policies and statements. They will continue to selectively cover stories that favor the left. They will ignore our successes and exploit or fabricate our failures. We also have to accept as a reality that the left justifies any and all means to achieve their goals. They will lie, deceive, and obfuscate. They will use paid protesters and community organizers to commit (alleged) fraud. They will create and exploit crises to support their long-term goals. We will have to operate in acceptance of these challenges, and explain them as well.

At the same time, Conservatives have done well in the face of Obama. The Tea Party Movement, while not partisan, does endorse many conservative and libertarian ideas. It has also encouraged participation by people that have never been politically active. The attendance has been multiracial, as well as from multiple political parties. Bloggers, radio hosts, and organizers have been able to get the word out. But, how much of this effort has been expended on educating and reaching out to people that might not be aware of the issues? The left is doing it, and lying all the way. They have ACORN, and a host of other “community organizations.” They now have the president’s creation; “Organizing for America.” These people will be out in full force to lie, intimidate, vandalize, occupy, or otherwise bully the people into doing what they want. I honestly think we need to get our message out as well, but we don’t need to resort to lying and thuggery to achieve our goals. Having the truth on one’s side has a quality and quantity all it’s own. If we do nothing in this regard, the liberals will lie to them at every turn, and be successful at it.

© Matt Ross

Originally posted at Conservative Hideout 2.0

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