E. J. Dionne wrote an interesting article in which he tried to describe the Republican's strategy in this presidential election. For conservatives, this is a go-for-broke election. They and a Republican Party now under their control hope to eke out a narrow victory in November on the basis of a quite radical program that includes more tax cuts for the rich, deep reductions in domestic spending, big increases in military spending and a sharp rollback in government regulation... In the process, the right hopes to redefine middle-of-the-road policies as “left wing,” thereby altering the balance in the American political debate. He goes on to suggest that the reason this strategy is making Romney competitive is because of 3 things: Conservatives have their opening not because the country has moved far to the right but courtesy of economic discontent, partisan polarization and the right’s success in defining Obama as standing well to the left of where he actually does. That'
Nancy LeTourneau's big picture look at politics and life