The Pete Wilson-ing of the National GOP

I have been struck by how the national GOP has been following the Gov. Pete Wilson California Republican model. But just like the California GOP this -will lead- is leading them to an electoral disaster.

Pete Wilson as the Republican Governor of California 1991-1999 won elections by doing the following:

1) a divide and conquer strategy against Democrats
2) Picking 1-2 high profile issue to make moderates think he was a "moderate: social conservative
3) Pick "red meat" wedge issue to rally social conservatives to his cause (there by ignoring his "moderate" outreach)
4) Run as a strong fiscal conservative

Pete Wilson 1st used anti-Immigration and anti-Affirmative Action with support for things like Proposition 187 as his wedge issue. While using education reform and being pro-choice as his "moderate issue."

This strategy worked at first. But as Gov. Wilson continued to inact more and more unpopular Republican ideas (merging the California State Police into the California Highway Patrol to save money, deregulation ect) he had to use more and more wedge issues to try and win. The result was that ever time he "won" with a wedge issue he lost a group of voters who felt "victimized by the GOP." For example Pete Wilson's socialy conservative "red meat" policies led to not only California Latino's voting more strongly for Democrats, but also voting at HIGHER rates over all. Pete Wilson in the end only strengthened his opponents.

Yes, Pete Wilson won, but he in the end, devestated the California GOP to the point that California is now a Democratic state (remember is was the land of Reagan). In fact it is my opinion the Republican's won the recall Governship over the unpopular Grey Davis, only because they had the celebrity of Arnold.

As a side note notice how the Bush White House let California suffer the huge Blackouts of the 2001 California Energy Crisis blaming bad Democratic policies. All the while ignoring Davis complaints fraud was being committed. They let Enron off the hook (no investigation), as businesses went bankrupt and old folk without AC died, this was the first warning about how Bush would act in Hurricane Katrina. The Energy Crisis directly lead to Gov. Grey Davis recall as he had to borrow money and raise taxes to fix Pete Wilson mess killing his popularity

Now fast forward to todays national Republican Party. Bush much like Pete Wilson ( Prop 13 was based on a law he passed as mayor of San Diego to limit property tax increases ), ran as a fiscal conservative. In Bush's case it was tax cuts and deregulation. Bush used Education (NCLB) and Immigration as his "Moderate Issues" to reach suburban voters (especially married White Suburban Woman). He then used wedge issues to divide Democrats. -anti- Gay Marriage -dicrimination- to get 6% more Black votes in Ohio 2004, support for federal labor unions = support for Osama Bin Laden aka Georgia Senate 2002, targeting the very Dem Senators who helped pass your agenda in the name of bi-partisanship Senate Races 2002, Texas midterm redistricting 2004, on an on.

Yes, each one of these actions on it's own won the GOP an election here and there. But the cumulative effect is that it PISSED off some group of voters puting them beyond reach of other GOP candidates, for several election cycles if not a generation. It turned me some one with a political compass usually between - 2 to - 1/ - 2 to - 1, into a person willing to work/donate/organize for Liberal causes. I have a Purto Rican friend who twice voted for Bush and was a big supporter of GOP Latino outreach efforts, a few days ago he was telling me he thinks the GOP is "EVIL" and he "will never vote for them ever again" (his words not mine), " they are never going to outlaw abortion so he was used, and I think they screwed (sic) the poor." This was from a 2004 GOP operative. Yes we are just two people, but I find these types of stories very common these days.

This is just a cursory analysis, someone who actually lives in CA may have more to add. But I think that Karl Rove instead of being regarded as the architect of a Permenant Republican Majority will be regarded as the man who PETE WILSONed the National GOP! I find their overall strategies very similar.

note: I wonder if anyone else picked up the parallels between Bush letting California figuratively "drop dead" in 2001 California Energy crisis, and Bush letting New Orleans literally drop dead by the thousands in Hurricane Katrina?