Disaffected Crossover Republicans = "Obamacans"

Curator · 02-02-2008, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Susan Eisenhower is more than just another disappointed Republican. She is also Ike's granddaughter and a dedicated member of the party who has urged her fellow Republicans in the past to stick with the GOP. But now Eisenhower, who runs an international consulting firm, is endorsing Barack Obama. She has no plans to officially leave the Republican Party. But in Eisenhower's view, Obama is the only candidate who can build a national consensus on the issues most important to her—energy, global warming, an aging population and America's standing in the world.

"Barack Obama will really be in a singular position to attract moderate Republicans," she told NEWSWEEK. "I wanted to do what many people did for my grandfather in 1952. He was hugely aided in his quest for the presidency by Democrats for Eisenhower. There's a long and fine tradition of crossover voters."

Eisenhower is one of a small but symbolically powerful group of what Obama recently called "Obamacans"—disaffected Republicans who have drifted away from their party just as Eisenhower Democrats did and, more recently, Reagan Democrats in the 1980s. They include lifelong Republican Tricia Moseley, a former staffer for the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, the one-time segregationist from South Carolina. Now a high-school teacher, Moseley says she was attracted to Obama's positions on education and the economy.

Former GOP congressman Joe Scarborough, who anchors MSNBC's "Morning Joe," says many conservative friends—including Bush officials and evangelical Christians—sent him enthusiastic e-mails after seeing Obama's post-election speeches in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. "He doesn't attack Republicans, he doesn't attack whites and he never seems to draw these dividing lines that Bill Clinton [does]," Scarborough told NEWSWEEK.

Plenty of Republicans are immune to the Obama swoon, of course. The Republican National Committee has emphasized a recent analysis suggesting that Obama had the most liberal voting record in the Senate last year. But even small numbers of Obamacans can help reinforce the candidate's unity message and bolster his "electability" argument. In Iowa, the campaign identified more than 700 registered Republicans who committed to caucusing for Obama (although staffers say they don't yet know how many showed up to vote). And in the Super Tuesday state of Colorado, campaign staffers say they found more than 500 erstwhile Republicans who were willing to switch their party registration.

Even if Republicans don't convert in more significant numbers, the friendly outreach may blunt the ferocity of GOP attacks. One senior aide to John McCain has already said he's reluctant to attack Obama: last year, McCain's adman Mark McKinnon wrote an internal memo promising not to tape ads against the Illinois Democrat if he becomes the nominee.

HarperLee · 02-02-2008, 02:21 PM

It warms my heart to see an Eisenhower supporting an Obama in my
lifetime.

ThetaBurst · 02-02-2008, 04:11 PM

Nice.

poetrychic · 02-02-2008, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Even if Republicans don't convert in more significant numbers, the friendly outreach may blunt the ferocity of GOP attacks. One senior aide to John McCain has already said he's reluctant to attack Obama: last year, McCain's adman Mark McKinnon wrote an internal memo promising not to tape ads against the Illinois Democrat if he becomes the nominee.

that's important to note and speaks greatly to the ability this man has as a leader

mudwhistle · 02-02-2008, 07:53 PM

There you go. Nominate Obama. We won't attack him. We promise.

poetrychic · 02-02-2008, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mudwhistle

There you go. Nominate Obama. We won't attack him. We promise.

behave yourself

itsmeeeeeee · 02-02-2008, 08:04 PM

you'd attack your own mama if she had the audacity to question the gop party line.
come on, admit it.

mudwhistle · 02-02-2008, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poetrychic

behave yourself

Barry Hussein was getting creamed in the polls until he started attacking Cankles at a debate. Of course he is going to attack our candidate. We're going to attack him. That's the way it goes.

Your liberal media has been running a smear campaign against one of the greatest Presidents this country has ever had for seven years. Tell them to behave.

Jaded · 02-02-2008, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poetrychic

that's important to note and speaks greatly to the ability this man has as a leader

I agree completely. I hope he sticks to it. There is no reason for attack. I don't care about what the other guy won't do for me - I want to know what you ARE going to do. McCain, while supporting Bush in 04 spoke well of Kerry and denounced the swiftboaters. Of course, all bets may be off if he is the candidate. But I hope not.

poetrychic · 02-02-2008, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mudwhistle

Barry Hussein was getting creamed in the polls until he started attacking Cankles at a debate. Of course he is going to attack our candidate. We're going to attack him. That's the way it goes.

Your liberal media has been running a smear campaign against one of the greatest Presidents this country has ever had for seven years. Tell them to behave.

there's a difference in attack vs. speaking the truth...to downright attack a candidate highlights the character, more specifically lack thereof, of the person doing the attacking (read here, bill, hillary and every single republican who's gone under the influence of karl rove)...

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