Viable, Balanced System Is Working Cuts Both Ways Remember Those ‘Reagan Democrats’?

Fri., Feb. 18, 2000

By Gary Crooks garyc@spokesman.com (509) 459-5026

The Republican Party wants to shut independents and Democrats out of the primary process in states where party registration is optional.

The party that wooed and won conservative, blue-collar Democrats during the Reagan era and declared itself a big tent in the 1992 election has changed its mind. It even tried to use technicalities in New York primary laws to keep U.S. Sen. John McCain off the ballot.

The complaining has intensified since McCain rode to an 18-point victory in the New Hampshire primary on a wave of non-Republican votes. At party headquarters, McCain is about as welcome as Jane Fonda.

And now, it seems, the party’s anointed presidential candidate, Gov. George W. Bush, will have to work hard to win the nomination. In South Carolina, Bush’s 20-point lead dwindled to a statistical dead heat. Bush has a two-to-one margin among Republicans. But McCain’s margin among Democrats and independents is even larger. Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Vice President Al Gore is lengthening his lead over former Sen. Bill Bradley.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Republicans had hoped Bush would cruise to victory, then kick back and watch Gore and Bradley exhaust resources. The Bush camp is now grousing about Democrats casting strategic votes. The theory is that Democrats see the well-funded Bush as a more formidable candidate, so they cross over and vote for McCain. There is some truth to that, but that strategy is available to both sides. In fact, Reaganites did the same thing back in the ‘80s. What should be of greater concern to Bush are those Democrats who are simply saying, “I like McCain.”

The Bush camp knows it cannot win a national race by just appealing to the conservative Republican establishment. This week, Bush has held forth on health care, education and campaign finance reform. What’s wrong with that? What’s sad is that he spent $50 million before airing substantive views.

He has discovered many voters aren’t impressed by his inevitability. They want details. These Democrats and independents have forced him into serious discussions of important issues.

The GOP should view this as an opportunity to win over independents and Democrats, not shut them out. The primary system was designed to open up the selection process. It’s working.

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