Republican Paranoia Could Cost the Party in November
Mainstream conservatives are paying a price for placating the GOP’s right wing.
More harm than help?
Photographer: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
The terror that mainstream conservative Republican politicians have felt over the threat of being called insufficiently conservative — of being tagged as Republicans in Name Only — has made governing difficult for them since the 1990s. But whenever they were the minority party in Washington, they could correctly assume that there was little electoral cost to mollifying the party’s right wing.
This year, that presumption may no longer hold up. With an incumbent president whose approval rating barely tops 40% and plenty of discontent about the economy, Democrats should be facing heavy losses. Instead, there are signs Republican might only make minor gains in the November midterms. The GOP could even lose seats in the Senate and among governors. And that is all due to Republican fears of being labeled RINO.