With political campaigns hitting their stride as we approach midterm elections, there will be no shortage of rhetorical mudslinging, calculated backstabbing, and empty political promises during the next couple months.
Unfortunately, however, one thing that has already come and gone was a prime opportunity to discuss the current state of the Republican Party.
It all began with a press luncheon hosted July 24 by Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, Republican candidate for Maryland’s open Senate seat. The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank — adhering to a Steele campaign request — reported the following day that an anonymous GOP Senate candidate spoke of his party’s “R” as a “scarlet letter,” symbolic of an “impediment,” a “hurdle” to be overcome if he had any chance to win as a member of a party whose “base is kind of ticked off.”
Perhaps the statement that caused the greatest hullabaloo throughout the press and blogosphere was Steele’s admission that he would “probably not” want President Bush to campaign for him in Maryland. So amid the ensuing coverage, Steele wisely admitted to making the comments, standing behind criticism of the president on the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina, but backpedaling when it came to fearing the repercussions of Bush’s endorsement.
The problem is, Steele was right. And instead of saying so and explaining that Republican voters are all too aware that their party is often indistinguishable from Democrats these days, he hedged. In all likelihood, Steele was simply trying to avoid drawing the disapproval of his supporters, but by doing so he opened himself up to widespread criticism from his opponents.
Unsurprisingly, Maryland Democratic Party spokesman Arthur Harris subsequently accused Steele of being a chameleon, stating that Steele knows he can’t win in Maryland as a conservative Republican, and implying he therefore must please both Democrats and Republicans in order to have a chance at victory. (There’s a novelty: a politico criticizing a politician for acting like a politician.)
Such condemnation should be deflected rather easily in an election year, but Steele needs to be mindful that his biggest electoral target isn’t necessarily Republicans who already adore him, but moderate Democrats that Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich has been largely successful in attracting.
Therefore, pointing out that a Republican Congress’ lust for, say, egregious entitlement spending and last-minute appropriations bill earmarks is akin to an abandonment of principles shouldn’t be beyond the pale, and in fact should galvanize support among fed-up Republicans and inspire middle-of-the-road Democrats.
In short, it’s probable that Steele has been sensing the same growing disengagement between the GOP and its constituents over the years that many Americans have. In fact, look no further than Connecticut, where Republicans are essentially throwing more support behind the Democrats’ incumbent senator, Joe Lieberman, than their own nominee, Alan Schlesinger.
Indeed, in a business where the rule is to modify one’s views with the shifting political winds in order to maximize appeal to the electorate, Steele generally is the exception. Steele is known for being a straight-shooter, an independent voice unafraid to speak his mind.
Would Steele win a Senate race in Marylandtoday if he campaigned on issues like eliminating federal funding for education, strengthening gun rights, and doing away with Social Security? Unfortunately, no, he wouldn’t. But there’s a reason Steele isn’t running as a conservative Republican: He isn’t one. As he likes to say, he’s a conservative but he’s also a moderate.
For instance, while Steele is in favor of limiting government by cutting federal gasoline taxes and suspending tariffs on ethanol imports, he also endorses higher fuel efficiency standards for cars. And while the lieutenant governor takes the conservative view in opposing abortion, he is also committed to the more liberal stance of promoting a “stronger, healthier environment” in Maryland — something he could more appropriately accomplish by running for re-election with Ehrlich than winning a seat in the U.S. Senate.
And so it goes for a Republican in a blue state, or, for that matter, a Democrat in a red one.
So, was Steele anxious, even frustrated, when he complained about the direction the Republican Party has been heading lately? Sure. After all, he’s in a tight race, currently polling behind Democrats Ben Cardin and Kweisi Mfume.
But he was also resoundingly human and forthright. As Steele himself emphasized at his press briefing, Americans, perhaps now more so than in recent memory, are above all looking for honesty, integrity, and principles in their politicians.
Now is no time for Steele to shy away from his.
Trevor Bothwell is proprietor of Who’s Your Nanny?, a blog at http://bothwell.typepad.com/whos_your_nanny
