Today’s Union Leader reports that NH GOP boss Fergus Cullen is ticked that Fran Wendelboe has formed a group to recruit conservatives to run for state office in 2008:
You’ve only got yourself to blame, Fergus. Instead of attempting to find common ground with conservatives, Fergus has continued the NH GOP’s approach of ignoring conservatives on the theory that "they have nowhere else to go." This may win points with GOP bigwigs like Rath, Gregg, Gatsas and Whalley, but it’s not a winning election strategy.
The voters of this State identify themselves as about 1/2 independents (the we’re-not-ideological-we’re-only-interested-in-what-government-can-do-for-us crowd) and 1/4 each Democrat and Republican. Probably about 40% of those identifying themselves as Republicans are "conservatives." That is too big a number for the NH GOP to ignore, if it wants to win elections.
The challenge for the NH GOP is to offer an agenda that appeals to a majority of independents and the approximately 1/4 of the electorate that identifies itself as Republican.
