Washington’s GOP caucuses ‘most important ever’

Republicans in Washington are gearing up for what could be
one of the most important caucuses ever as GOP voters
gather Saturday to try and sway fellow
Republicans to support their favorite candidate.

“When has Washington mattered before in presidential
politics? It’s clear this one can have a major impact on
the presidential race,” says David Boze, talk-show host at
AM 770 The Truth.

Republicans say Saturday’s caucuses will serve as a
critical springboard to Super Tuesday, and could play a
major part in shaping what’s been one of the most bruising
primary campaigns in memory.

Conservative analyst and talk show host Michael Medved
predicts Mitt Romney will win narrowly, helping “plug the
leaks” in what had previously seemed a preordained run to
the GOP nomination.

But Boze says a Romney victory would be a big upset and
predicts Santorum will win, given the grass roots nature
of caucuses.

Listen to
Extended audio: David Boze on Washington caucuses

“A primary you just mark the ballot and you’re done.
Caucuses are for the grass roots, very driven people who
want to spend hours on a Saturday debating the issues.
Only die hards show up for those things,” says Boze.

And many of those die hards represent a growing problem
for the GOP, according to Medved.

“The Republican Party has a huge problem going forward
with losing educated affluent voters, and boy is it a
problem here in this state.”

Medved says while Republicans are often labeled as elitist
and affluent, he says the reality is actually opposite.

“Increasingly, the Republican party is a party of rural
voters, blue collar voters, and social conservatives. And
you’re seeing this partly because we have been driving out
a lot of those more affluent and educated voters, white
collar voters that we need to appeal to,” Medved says.

Some argue GOP candidates need to become more moderate,
especially on social issues. But both Boze and Medved
counter it’s not the positions so much as the tone that
has turned off so many voters.

“What wins for the Republican party is not a moderate
approach or moderate candidate, but a conservative
candidate with a moderate tone,” Medved says. And he says
that’s why Attorney General Rob McKenna is polling so well
across the state in his gubernatorial bid against
Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee.

But it’s a very different different picture in the
presidential race in our state, where President Obama
continues to far out-poll the GOP candidates.

“There’s a problem here. A lot of the voters that we need
are today’s self-described independents who are tending to
vote democrat. They certainly voted for Barack Obama last
time and I see very little among the four candidates who
are left where those candidates are exciting to those
voters,” Medved says.

Boze agrees. “I don’t get the sense there’s an overriding
passion for any of the candidates.
It’s more like “I’d rather have Santorum over Romney.”

But that won’t stop the winner of Saturday’s Washington
caucuses from pointing to our state as a major milestone
in their bid for the White House.