Friday, June 20, 2008
Cracking the Granite State
At The Washington Post EJ Dionne shows how close the presidential contest is likely to be in New Hampshire, and how in a close election the Granite State and other small states might play the role of kingmaker. When I was growing up in the land of John Sununu the idea that rock ribbed republican New Hampshire could be in play for Democrats would have been absurd. And yet given demographic and political changes in the state (which I have always argued was less conservative than libertarian) in recent years and the state's recent trends, I do not quite grasp why Dionne seems to surprised by these changes, especially given that nosedive this administration has taken in popularity and reputation since 2004.
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2 comments:
I thought this piece, about how libertarians seem to be trending toward a more comfortable place within the Democrats' party than within the Republicans', was pretty interesting.
Mul --
Good to hear from you.
It's an interesting piece and argument. What I wonder is how deep the roots are and could become. My (pessimistic) tendency is to think that it's a pretty shallow alliance inclined to implode when one side slights the other -- most likely when the Dems are perceived as straying.
It's a tough time to be a Libertarian right now, it seems. They nominated a decidedly non-Libertarian in Barr, the GOP seems to be anathema for now, and the Dems, with Obama, seem appealing by default.
As electoral politics go, though, we'll take 'em. As for a longstanding coalition, we'll see. But temporally, if the GOP loses those of a libertarian bent to the Democrats, this election is going to be a slaughter.
dcat
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