Hubris

Interesting post by Jonathan Chait interpreting the Republicans' claims that they lost the House and Senate because they'd abandoned conservative principles. What Chait gets right is that whenever they win, Republicans claim it's because of conservatism and whenever they lose they claim it's because they weren't conservative enough.

As Chait points out, though, there wasn't any drop-off in the conservative vote this election. In 04, 93 percent of Republicans voted for Bush; in 06, 91 percent of Republicans voted for their Republican senator or representative.

In other words, it's not the conservatives who have abandoned the Republican candidates - it's everybody else.

The scary thing, at least to me, is that idealogues on the Democratic end take the same approach: if they lose, it's because they weren't progressive enough. If they win, it's because the voters like their progressive policies.

This kind of thinking is as disastrously stupid when it comes from the people you agree with as it is when it comes from the people you hate.

Democrats took the House and Senate because voters don't like the war in Iraq. They're still not crazy about gay marriage and they're still pretty ambivalent about abortion (they want it available as an option, but they see it as a tragic, painful choice that should only be made as a last resort)(honestly. I've sat down with every single voter, and these were their exact words. I can send you the tapes). If we assume otherwise, the Republicans will be back in power.