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- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Cal Thomas
Bob McDonnell
Virginia's governor-elect, Bob McDonnell, may be the future of the
In a recent interview at his transition office, McDonnell, who crushed his opponent Creigh Deeds by a 59 percent to 41 percent majority, attracting sought-after independents by a 2-1 margin, said that while he emphasized bread-and-butter issues like jobs, transportation and taxes during the campaign he hasn't forgotten social issues that are near and dear to the Republican base: "I am a social and economic conservative and have made no bones about it. I have an 18-year record as attorney general and as a legislator of not only supporting, but leading on a lot of those issues ... but what I understood people were most concerned about ... were quality of life and pocketbook issues: jobs, economic development, taxes and federal intrusion into the free enterprise system."
Other Republicans have used social issues to win elections only to discard them once in office. Will McDonnell remain committed to these issues? "Absolutely," he says, mentioning his leadership, as a member of the
"The last thing (people) need is politicians butting heads and saying how bad the other guy is." Now if Democrats would only adopt that attitude. The
"It shows that Virginia is still a right-of-center state," he says. McDonnell notes he won substantially in large pockets of Northern Virginia, the Post's backyard, which had been trending Democratic. He maintains the newspaper actually did him a favor: "The Post, along with my opponent, created such a misplaced focus on my position on social issues that they ceded the entire playing field to me on economic issues, which is what people were voting on."
Message: If you have a good platform that can improve the economy and promote job creation, Independents will give you a pass on your social agenda. That is a reversal of traditional Republican thinking of putting social issues front and center. "I try to (attract Independents) by reaching out and embracing people, not having a covenant of limitations that excludes people."
So is McDonnell a "big tent Republican"? It is a phrase that has come to mean the acceptance of anyone, even if they have positions that do not fit the Republican mold. "I do believe it is absolutely critical for the
A practicing Catholic, McDonnell reads his Bible, several newspapers and Websites daily for "inspiration and information." "Where my faith helps me immensely is that there is a style of governing that, for me as a Christian, means dialogue, civility, politeness, a spirit of cooperation and goodwill and trying to find ways to work together, while never capitulating on my principles."
That is an extreme makeover from the angry Republican and it might be a winning model for the
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