“Obamicans”
By Mona
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It isn’t merely former member of the Reagan DoJ, Doug Kmiec — who is also my former Con Law prof — who, among GOP ranks, is endorsing Barack Obama (as I wrote about here and here). So sayeth The New York Sun, which identifies several other higher-profile GOPers who are going Obama, and hints that even Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) may yet turn into an “Obamican.” An excerpt, but read the whole thing (my emphasis):
The president of Americans for Tax Reform and a conservative activist, Grover Norquist, said he agreed. “What you are going to get is people like Doug Kmiec, who are concerned about the accumulation of power in the executive branch and want to speak to it,” he said. “It’s all about too much power in the executive branch, which is a conservative principle. Because of the war in Iraq and partisan division, Bush and Cheney convinced Republicans that this is something you should be for. But guys who went to law school know better than that. This is a very important thing, and they are frustrated and they feel they can’t get focused on it. So how do you get attention?” By “saying something dramatic, like ‘I am endorsing Barack Obama.’”
And not to sound elitist, but I think there is some truth that scholars of the Constitution — with or without any particular kind of degree — are the most likely Republicans to be in revolt.
Comment by quasibill —
March 31, 2008 @ 3:02 pm
It’s kind of an upside down, mirror image … aw heck, I hate the word because it gets overused and I’m not really a big comic fan anyway, but… Bizzaro race shaping up.
As you note, a fair number of conservative Republicans are making their case for Obama. On the other side, I had a conversation this weekend with some hardcore technocratic type Dems, and they unanimously voiced their opinion that they will be voting for McCain because at least he has some experience (they were almost as unanimous in their hatred of Hillary for a litany of reasons, most of which were ill-formed).
Left is become right, up is become down.
Perhaps our only hope is that the center will not hold for much longer and some of the long-standing illusions will shatter for most of the public. Though hoping for such a sudden shift in public perception is a scary thing - the worst of the worst tend to come to the fore in such situations.
Comment by The Modesto Kid —
March 31, 2008 @ 4:04 pm
Take cover! It’s the revolting Republicans! :0)
Comment by Laertes —
March 31, 2008 @ 5:47 pm
Speaking as a Democrat, I’m perfectly happy to trade away the sort of Democrat who values McCain’s “experience” in return for those Republicans who take constitutionally limited government seriously. That’s a win-win.
Comment by Bruce Baugh —
March 31, 2008 @ 8:00 pm
That’s funny, Norquist was all gung-ho for lots of executive power for a good long while there. Not that I really expect anything like an honest admission or repentence from him - after all, he’s still committed to breaking the fundamental terms of the Constitution - but still.
Comment by Glaivester —
March 31, 2008 @ 8:14 pm
Grover Norquist is an Arab-American who, as I recall, has befriended some Muslim groups. This has caused many of the pro-war conservatives to question his loyalty, which may have something to do with why he is beginning to split with them, or vice versa.
Comment by Riggsveda —
April 1, 2008 @ 8:10 am
It would be just like Norquist to try to own the idea that Constitutional issues are “conservative”. I guess forgot about all those liberals who were pushing unitary executive crap for the last 7 years.