Arnold or Rudy vs Evan would turn the world of the fanatical ideologists on its head, and I would savor it, oh how I would savor it!
ick ick ick.
we need a liberal vs. conservative election.
i am a conservative democrat...but i would strongly support a liberal democrat like dennis kucinich. as i supported kerry.
I'd probably through my weight behind the Democrat whether liberal or centrist. I just strongly believe that a moderate has a better chance.
Come to think of it, liberalism as a political ideology posits itself in the centre of the ideological spectrum, while conservatives are to the right
I've done some more number crunching identifying the actual base of the Bush and Kerry vote
Party ID:
Bush - Democrat 4.07 + Republican 34.41 + Independent 12.48 = 50.96%
Kerry - Democrat 32.93% + Republican 2.22 + Independent 12.48 = 47.89%
Ideology:
Bush - Liberal 2.73 + Moderate 20.25 + Conservative 28.86 = 51.54%
Kerry - Liberal 17.85 + Moderate 24.30 + Conservative 5.10 = 47.25%
As you can see a majority of Bush voters were conservatives and he attracted more votes from Democrats than Kerry did from Republicans; while, a majority of Kerry's voters were moderates. Clearly, conservatives can win in a way liberals can't
I honestly think that a centrist Democratic candidate in '04 could easily have defeated Bush - but we'll never know
Many think that America is becoming a more conservative nation; however, I reckon that America is becoming less liberal. Future presidential races will won and lost in the centre, where the Democrats have a better chance of being successful with a more centrist candidate. Kerry had a majority of the moderate vote but it was not enough to offset Bush's huge lead among conservatives who significantly outnumber liberals among the electorate
Democrats need to be pragmatic when selecting their candidate in 2008 - think "electability" and not "litmus tests"
Dave