Moderate Republicans: Pragmatists Or Traitors?

TW: The Republicans are getting tons of press for opposing the Obama economic plans. Perhaps they are re-branding their party towards "small government and low taxes". I would argue amidst the worst recession in decades when government induced consumption is far more likely to avoid a depression than the alternative of reduced government spending that now is not a great time to try out that re-branding approach. When we are at war militarily or economically the public tends to rally around the POTUS regardless of party, many Republicans seem to have missed that memo. There are a handful of Republicans who got it though.

From Economist:
"...a new poll from Florida..gives Charlie Crist, the state's Republican governor, comically strong odds of being elected to the Senate if he feels like changing jobs. "Florida's political steamroller," writes Jim Geraghty. "A rare sight in America," notes the conservative GOP12 blog. "A Republican dominating the race for an open seat."

This isn't a mystery, is it? Mr Crist is one of the least conservative Republican governors, and the only one to appear with President Obama to sell the stimulus. It makes sense that he'd be more popular than the average Republican, identified (and proudly so) with obstructing the president's agenda.

Here, for example was a Republican take on Mr Obama's joint appearance with the governor.
'There's a difference between working in a bipartisan way for the common good and switching sides and putting on the other team's jersey," said veteran Republican consultant Alex Castellanos. "At the one moment when we've finally found our voice and remember who we are as Republicans, Charlie Crist forgets. It's stunning.'

The idea that Republican unity against "big spending" is powering a comeback has no basis in reality."

More from the Economist:
"...If it's possible to make any judgments after less than a month of Mr Obama's presidency, here's one: Republicans are underestimating the panic that voters are feeling about the economy. It's there in the polls, but Republicans are attempting to fight for credibility on that issue by opposing the Democrats' economic ideas and opposing the president. They are treating it as a typical economic battle, like this decade's fights over the size of tax cuts.

The problem: Americans are so panicked that the normal rules do not apply. This economic slowdown is as all-encompassing a fear as, for example, fear of terrorism was in the build-up to the Iraq War in 2002 to 2003. At that time, Democrats sought out political breathing room and pitched alternatives to President Bush's version of the Department of Homeland Security and the war resolution. Americans wouldn't have it: in the crisis, they trusted the president..."