In an episode that will air next week, Mitch Daniels responds to his conservative critics on social issues and defense cuts. He responds in two ways. First, while Daniels believes that liberals are the primary aggressors on social issues, he says his truce is meant for both sides. Second, he says it is about winning elections. “Freedom will need every friend it can get,” he says. He wants Republicans to succeed in 2012 so they can save America from fiscal disaster. He admits that challenging Obama will be a tough fight and that Republicans will need voters outside the “values block.”
Daniels has angered many Republicans with his political priorities. Just this week, five Republican presidential hopefuls at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition and blasted Daniels as completely and irreparably wrong on social issues. The Wall Street Journal’s Bill McGurn raked Daniels over the coals calling him clueless and out of touch with conservative ideals.
Daniels explains that his call for a truce is a tactical decision. One made with the understanding that no other issue will matter if America goes broke.
In addition to social issues, Daniels raises conservative ire by putting the defense budget on the chopping block. Although he worked for two Presidents who had a “peace through strength” foreign policy, Daniels argues financing the defense budget with foreign money is wrongheaded. He says, “We have not been in this bind before. We have not been as broke as we are, or are about to be.” Failing to resolve our financial woes now, he says, will cripple our defense in the end anyway.
While many fellow Republicans are up in arms, Daniels seems to be in line with public opinion. A recent WSJ/NBC poll found that nearly two thirds of Republican primary voters would be more likely to vote for a candidate that believes the focus should be on the economy and the deficit rather than social issues. Perhaps the governor is on to something?
Watch the trailer for next week’s episode here:
[youtube PIKQSwO2rmk&feature=channel_video_title]
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