[quote author="Nude" date=1257409017][quote author="green_cactus" date=1257406643][quote author="Nude" date=1257400726][quote author="green_cactus" date=1257399609][quote author="Nude" date=1257396531]The independents, the people's who votes determine the course of elections, aren't onboard with Obama anymore.</blockquote>
If the GOP keeps up with their infighting this may not hold true anymore. I'm just waiting for Palin to run as a 3rd party candidate ...</blockquote>
Okay, I'll bite... what infighting? Aside from NY23, where are you seeing infighting costing Republicans an election? And in what scenario does Sarah Palin run as a 3rd party candidate... and for which office?</blockquote>
Marco Rubio vs. House Speaker Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida for one. Crist is labeled as a "squishy moderate who can't be trusted" - he is being derided for accepting stimulus funds and embracing Obama. Rubio may get wild support from the conservative base, but I just don't see how he has a broader appeal among independents.</blockquote>
This is the beauty of the primary system, don't you think? Rubio and Crist, fighting for the right to run... yeah, I love that. Here's the thing, and it's an important point: someone with extreme left or right credentials can run to the center during the general election because the base is already onboard. They don't need to prove anything to secure that portion of the vote, which gives them freedom to move to the center when running in the general election, which is exactly what Obama did from Denver forward to the election. If rubio wins, his conservative support is locked in and he can campaign on more central issues. In contrast, if Crist wins, he has to convince the conservatives AND the independents/moderates to vote for him... that strategy failed McCain miserably in the general. It also failed Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton, who were both rejected for being too much like the other party.
Politically speaking, the infighting serves us well by culling the weaker candidates and forcing the people to choose sides. Sure, it has the potential to boomerang in the General election if something truly lurid is revealed, but history shows that independents tend to ignore the mud and focus on the issues.
Besides, the GOP is already out of power, so what do the Conservatives have to lose by going on the offensive to wrest control away from the blue-bloods?</blockquote>
Nothing against primaries and the right of a party to nominate their wingnut candidate. However, if they are too far from the center I do not see them becoming viable to independents. Especially, if there is a 3rd party candidate to undermine their change of heart to appeal to the other side.