Quick! Someone sign up David and Elizabeth Scattergood to make some 30-second TV spots!
They’re lifelong Republicans, about to vote for a Democratic Presidential candidate for the first time this fall.
“We’re conservative people,” said Mr. Scattergood, 82. “We just don’t like what’s going on in this country.”
“We don’t believe the war in Iraq was justified,” he continued. “And Bush is so anti-environment. He favored vehicles in the national parks that are known to create pollution. He’s done everything for the oil industry. It’s really sad for someone our age to see what’s happening and to think about our grandchildren and what they’re going to be faced with.”
Or how about Pixie Lown, who used to be a Republican State Representative in New Hampshire? “It’s just hard for a moderate person nowadays to be a Republican,” Ms. Lown said.
Update I’m behind the times. MoveOn is trying to air some “convert” ads. But they’re mostly preaching to the choir about Iraq, rather than complaining about the betrayal of conservative values. (This one’s an exception.) And they’re way too mod and multi-culti for the voters who can actually be reached by this sort of pitch, who are mostly older, white, and culturally conservative. I say this as someone who’s had a full beard since 1970: Lose the facial hair, guys. Let’s get the Scattergoods on camera.
MoveOn has a problem common to such groups: what appeals to its donor base isn’t what appeals to swing voters. Does anyone know of a 527 that’s making a hard pitch to the moderate-to-conservative bloc?