Are most voters passionate about the size of government?
Do most voters want to eliminate government programs?
Obviously the answer is no. Many Republicans are passionate about these things but no one else cares. However that doesn't mean most voters want a large powerful government.
It does mean that most voters don't care about ideology. Mike Huckabee gets this. Voters don't care whether an idea is conservative or liberal.
They care about results. Is this policy going to improve my life or make it worse?
Until recently I'd ignored Huckabee's message on this issue. It's something Republicans need to wake up to.
We'll lose if we don't offer policies to improve people's lives on the issues they care about.
Huckabee says it like this:
- "Let me submit to you that we are too concerned with horizontal politics in America today. Perhaps the people out there eating dinner tonight aren't as concerned about the horizontal politics of left and right, but with the vertical politics: are we lifting them up or tearing them down."
I know it's just the primary season but voters are already paying attention. Do we want to offer up candidates who are selling ideology and partisan politics or do we want to deal with the problems voters actually care about?
If we don't offer bold solutions to voter's real concerns we will lose in November 2008 and Hillary, Obama, or Edwards will be elected President.