There’s an interesting development taking place (in the Republican Party): moderates are leaving the GOP to support Obama. Why not John McCain?

Pete Abel had the pleasure (put link in; seemingly forgot to do that) to talk to Tony Campbell, who he rightfully describes as a “unique character attached to a stranger-than-fiction cause.”

He’s a Republican, but he has worked (a lot) for Democrats. He has run for office, as a Republican, but he has failed. He was an advance press representative for George W. Bush. ” Today, Tony is an adjunct professor of political science at Towson University and is working on a masters of divinity through Liberty University, a school founded by the late Jerry Falwell.

O, and he’s press officer for an organization known as “Republicans for Obama” (RFO).

The group was founded back in December… 2006. That was before Obama announced that he would run for president. The first goal of the group, then, was to convince Obama that he should run. When he did, RFO “morphed into a grassroots effort to disseminate information on why Republicans should support the Senator. The group — active members of which number around a thousand — operates with no funding and no coordination or official relationship with the Obama campaign” (which is because of certain rules, of course).

So Pete asked him why a Republican, a moderate Republican, should support Obama. “Obama is more conservative than the media sometimes express,” Tony said. “Obama co-sponsored the federal funding and transparency act with (Republican) Senators Coburn and McCain. He co-sponsored the nuclear non-proliferation bill with (Republican) Senator Lugar. He was also a co-sponsor of a Senate immigration bill that would have cracked down on employers using illegal labor and helped secure our borders.”

That’s nice and all, of course, but Obama still ranks as one of the most liberal members of the US Senate according to just about every research. Pete, sadly, didn’t ask Tony about that (scores), but he did point out that some believe that Obama isn’t centrist, let alone conservative. To that Tony responded: “Granted, on certain things, I don’t agree with him.”

“I can only speak to what I know. And I know, for instance, that the Senator supports permanent R&D tax credits for businesses. He talks about middle-class tax relief; when’s the last time you heard a Democrat talk about any kind of tax relief? Again, I think he expresses a decent amount of common sense, and I think he would be wise enough to listen to the other side.”

Those are examples, important examples, but not exactly the kind of examples - I think - that will be able to convince every moderate in the country and outside of it that Obama really is a Centrist. One thing to keep in mind when we talk about Obama is that he has almost no record. And the record he does have, is liberal. At the same time, however, he (sometimes) talks the moderate talk. So, there are two options: he’s either not as liberal now as he was his first year(s) in the US Senate (and in the Illinois Senate) or he’s pretending to be something he’s not. To me, the answer is a leap of faith.

Some are willing to take that leap. Tony is one of them. When Pete asked him (and I encourage you to read the interview in its entirety) why he isn’t supporting John McCain - after all, finally moderate Republicans have succeeded, a moderate has won the party’s nomination - Tony answered that what he doesn’t like about McCain is that McCain has been in Washington for decades, whereas Obama has “a clean slate.”

The only thing I always ask of these people is to admit that this is exactly what’s going on: they’re willing to take a leap of faith. People like myself, who are more cynical, would caution against that, but there’s something to be said for the opposite: changing the approach to politics, the culture, the tone of the debate, etc. In other words, it might be worth it.

One gets the impression from reading Pete’s interview with Tony, that Tony understands this (as well) and is honest about it.

There’s more interesting information in the article; Pete asked Tony whether he doesn’t feel guilty about not supporting John McCain. He also asked what kind of reaction Republicans give to his support for Obama, especially considering the fact that the Republican Party finally has a moderate nominee. There’s an interesting account in it from how Tony was treated by Laura Ingraham; she accused him of being a fake Republican. At the same time, however, Tony is accused by Democrats of being a “Trojan horse,” who’s only interested in defeating the Clintons.

It’s a fascinating and thought-provoking article, because it leaves room for one to say “yes, there’s something to that,” while, on other points, one can say “well, that’s not the strongest of arguments, what about this?” That’s because, I take it, Pete doesn’t want to convince anyone to vote for Obama (in this article at least). He’s simply showing why some Republicans do support Obama, while at the same time pointing out that it’s a complicated affair.

And that’s a rarity these days.