And I agree with you. I don't see an overall shift to the right. I think there is a center-right majority (fiscally conservative but socially moderate to indifferent). However, I do think there has been a significant rightward shift in the GOP primary elections that froze out the center, and like I've said previously, I think it has at least as much to do with tone and attitude as it does with policy. I think most of the center voters will vote for a candidate who's more conservative than they are, as they currently vote for candidates who are more liberal than they are. However, it has to be respectful disagreement and include an invitation for the center element to have a seat at the table, and Reagan was able to pull that off. In states and communities that were to his Left, he knew how to highlight areas of agreement rather than division.
That's where the big change has been. It's not enough to disagree respectfully with moderates. To win a GOP primary, you have to take a hard right stance on issues, be very rigid about it regardless of context and political realities, and most of all, treat others who disagree (even if it's minor disagreement) with self-righteous contempt displayed with vitriolic rhetoric. Or as Larry more succinctly puts it, you have to behave like a "****-flinging monkey." Ted Cruz epitomizes this more than anybody in modern politics.
Last edited: Mar 24, 2015