There are certain candidates who can take advantage of having existing breathing room on things. Scott Walker is merely the most obvious example, but honestly: if, say, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) takes a less conservative position than expected on (to pick something at random) increased wind energy subsidies it’s not going to have the same immediate effect on a Republican base voter than would Jeb Bush doing the same thing. It’s not that our base voters have a problem with triangulation, per se: it’s that they’re not always convinced that our politicians are starting from the same place when they start triangulating.
And that’s pretty much how it goes; You get the street credit first, then you spend it to get the rest of the electorate on-board. Not the other way around. It astounds me that this still needs to be said.
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