Here is an interesting article on the demise of moderate Republicans by Alex Wayne of Congressional Quarterly but whch appears in the New York Times apparently (at least on the web).
I am quoted extensively in the piece and agree with Sarah Chamberlain Resnick, Executive Director of the Republican Main Street Partnership, that the strident right agenda of the Republican party is out of touch with the bulk of Americans and undermined many moderate Republicans.
The only thing that I would fix in the piece is the fact that the writer labeled me a self-identified moderate Republican. I am actually an Independent — whose sympathies are often with moderate Republicans like Chuck Hagel and Lincoln Chafee but also with progressive Democrats. At this point, I have been working hard to move Democrats into office and into a similar “radical centrist” political space.
During my chat with Alex Wayne, I strongly criticized moderate Republicans for not fighting sooner and more effectively against the Tom DeLay machine and against the fundamentalist right wing to expand their turf. I think that the failure to get David Dreier into the House Republican Leader position also further punctuated the weakness of moderates against the Rove-supported right wing.
More later.
— Steve Clemons
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