What the GOP Needs Is a Bill Clinton

Douthat: Way out of this mess is to find a new breed of moderate

By Gabriel Winant, Newser User

Posted May 5, 2009 9:28 AM CDT

(Newser) – Republican moderates like Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, and Arlen Specter are right that the GOP has a hole in the center, writes Ross Douthat in the New York Times. The problem is that they’re not the right kind of centrists to fill it. Yankee Republican moderates are either just liberals with nostalgia for the GOP name (Collins), or “politically savvy but intellectually vacuous” horse-traders (Snowe and Specter). What Republicans need is a Bill Clinton equivalent—an authentically conservative reformer able to attack GOP dogma.

Clinton and his allies remade the Democratic Party, writes Douthat, helping it “recover from the Reagan era, instead of just surviving it.” The new Democrats “were deeply rooted in liberal politics, but they had definite ideas for how the Democratic Party could learn from its mistakes, and from its opponents, in order to further liberalism’s deeper goals.” Maybe there's a governor out there who’s up to the task on the GOP side, Douthat hopes.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (2)]

In this May 8, 1987, file photo, former Sen. Gary Hart waves his arms to quiet applause from supporters, during a press conference announcing his withdrawal from the Democratic presidential race. (AP Photo/Jack Smith)

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, center, and Sen. Arlen Specter, then a Republican, talk about agreement on the economic stimulus measure, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., right, acknowledges the audience with former President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting, Sept 25, 2008 in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

But to succeed, such a faction will have to represent something legitimately new in right-of-center politics. It can’t sound like Rush Limbaugh — but it can’t sound like Arlen Specter either. - Ross Douthat

But the idea that peeling a $100 billion dollars off whatever the Democrats ask for and declaring victory represents some kind of path forward for a reeling Republican Party is risible. - Ross Douthat

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Getty Images

White Grandfather Cuffed for Walking With Black Granddaughter (NewsOne)

Man in Mugshot Explains Why He Has Half a Head (HuffPost)

These Exes Were Spotted Making Out … and That's a Bad Thing (Bleacher Report)

Help! I'm Having an Incestuous Relationship With My Twin (Slate)

Proof that Twitter Users are Sexier Than Facebook Users? (GeekSugar)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 6 comments

riffran

May 6, 2009 7:24 AM CDT

and the definition of "is " is?

Mad

May 6, 2009 2:53 AM CDT

Republicans have always been extremely jealous of how liberals unabashedly love our Democrat presidents. Cons watched as America openly, fondly loved Clinton. America, and the whole world clearly admired and respected the man, and that made republicans NUTS. They wanted to love their president too, so when they elected Bush, boy, they really poured on the love. Yet, because he never earned America's respect, Bush's supporters looked more like groupies than pleased Americans, and the love they showed appeared more like dick sucking than genuine admiration. So, what have we learned from all this? A president getting his dick sucked is bad; republicans sucking off thier president is good. Republicans must be choking on their own vomit as, once again, a Democrat president is beloved by America, and the entire world! The republican party is so done

Fondue

May 5, 2009 8:01 AM CDT

Obama's an idiot....lol....that's good.....so are you. Did you vote for Bush with all his out of control spending? My guess is Yes.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds Major Cash Inside

Study Finds Arsenic in Baby Formula, Cereal Bars

New York Times (Source Grid »)

Michael Steele to moderates: don't try to change the party
Talking Points Memo

Bill Clinton • Arlen Specter • Republican Party • centrist • Gary Hart • moderate • Ross Douthat

More Newser Stories

GOP Looks to Centrists for 2010

Candidates should 'fit their states': Cornyn

(NEWSER) - As the GOP eyes 2010, it’s turning to centrist candidates to restore its health—despite a “good riddance” attitude to the departure of moderate Arlen Specter, Politico reports. “I’m absolutely committed to recruiting candidates around the country that fit their states,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee head John Cornyn. It’s “a recipe for permanent minority status and irrelevance if we don’t pay attention to the arithmetic.” More»

Hey, GOP: Bring Back Our 2nd Party

GOP as useless as 7 vowels in Scrabble, needs new letters

(NEWSER) - Just like you get to throw in your tiles when Scrabble gives you seven useless vowels, so too do Republican voters keep picking again—and coming up with the same useless tiles, says Thomas Friedman in the New York Times . That's because the GOP is an out-of-date "captive of conflicting ideological bases," including anti-abortion forces, anti-taxes, anti-immigration, libertarians, and more. What America really needs is a second party in its two-party system—ie, "a coherent Republican opposition" that is able to respond realistically to the true problems facing the United States. "We need a 'Different Kind of Republican' the way Bill Clinton gave us a 'Different Kind of Democrat,'" writes Friedman. And maybe that means a crushing defeat in this election to force a hard reboot. More»

Please, Let 'Overblown' Sestak Story Go Away

It's a fairy tale, but it's just politics as usual

(NEWSER) - The story from the White House is that Bill Clinton, on Rahm Emanuel's behest, offered Joe Sestak an “unpaid advisory position” to drop out of the race against Arlen Specter. It's an obvious lie—come on, would Sestak even consider dropping out for so little?—and Joe Klein of Time is outraged. Not because it's a serious crime, but because dancing around the truth “may keep this way-overblown story in the news.” More»

Sestak Confirms Clinton Offer: 'I Said No'

White House counsel says no laws were broken

(NEWSER) - Drip by drip, we're getting a clearer picture of the White House's attempt to keep Joe Sestak out of the Arlen Specter race. Sestak today confirmed that Bill Clinton called him last summer, reports Politico . A portion of his statement: "He expressed concern over my prospects if I were to enter the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and the value of having me stay in the House of Representatives because of my military background. He said that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had spoken with him about my being on a Presidential Board while remaining in the House of Representatives. I said no." More»

White House Asked Bill Clinton to Talk to Sestak

He reportedly offered an unpaid advisory position

(NEWSER) - Bill Clinton has emerged in the middle of the Joe Sestak controversy. He's the man the White House asked to talk to Sestak about dropping out of the Pennsylvania Senate race to clear the way for Arlen Specter, reports the Washington Post . Clinton offered Sestak a "prominent, but unpaid, advisory position," reports the New York Times , and the White House counsel has concluded that the "unpaid" part means no laws were broken. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

What the GOP Needs Is a Bill Clinton