FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Andre Lamothe, 62, and his wife Pauline, 59, were in the crowd who came to Centennial Hall Saturday to hear Joe Scarborough speak and sign autographs for his new book, The Last Best Hope. However, they were probably the only ones in the room who are from Quebec, Canada.

Scarborough, a former U.S. Congressman and host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” jokingly said to them, “I hope you didn’t come just for me,” to which Andre responded, “Well I don’t always agree with you, but I like you.”

The Lamothes actually were vacationing in Florida when they decided to drive to Fairhope for the event.

According to Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, his “Morning Joe” co-host, who has traveled with him for the tour and remote broadcasts of the weekday television program, Andre’s response in general reflects the makeup of those attending these events. He proved that Saturday when he asked how many people there were Republicans and how many were Democrats, and the response was almost split equally, despite the fact that Scarborough himself is a conservative.

“The crowd has been bipartisan at every event,” Scarborough said. “It shows that I may not always agree with somebody, but that does not mean we can’t have an honest, open debate.”

Brzezinski interviewed Scarborough, pitching questions that related to the content of his book and then they both took questions from the audience. The actual book signing followed.

Despite being a conservative, Scarborough had many harsh words for the Republican Party. In his book, he talks about how the party abandoned its roots as a conservative party in the last eight years and lost its way, eventually losing power. It also gives his views on how the Democrats are “making things in the country worse,” and how the Republican party can reform and get back to its roots.

“The Republicans are shooting themselves in the foot politically,” Scarborough said. “We have turned our back on our conservative philosophies of the 1980s, when the party was big enough for Colin Powell and Dick Cheney.”

According to Scarborough, the book is one that people from both parties can read.

“We are converting Democrats across America,” he said.

Brzezinski said she also enjoyed the book.

“The book is attracting a very diverse audience,” she said. “I am a liberal, and I thought the book was good for the public since to me the media is run by liberals.”

Scarborough stressed all night the importance of both parties abandoning their extremist sides and moving more toward the center.

“We have lost middle America,” he said. “Americans aren’t overly ideological, and we have the extremists outnumbered.”

According to Scarborough, the moderate stance he takes on his show and in his book has caused him trouble from what he calls “extremes” on both sides.

“There is a hunger for real news, and we can’t take these litmus tests,” Scarborough said.” Extremists don’t like me because I don’t yell at people with whom I disagree.”

He says that when he was first asked to do the show, MSNBC wanted him to do three-minute, soundbite interviews and take hard-line political stances, but he refused.

Despite being considered a moderate on the political spectrum and stressing the importance of moving toward the center in politics, Scarborough said the Republican Party is losing credibility because they have not been not conservative enough.

“Nothing is conservative about turning a surplus into a deficit in eight years, nor is it conservative to have a foreign policy as aggressive as George Bush’s,” Scarborough said. “Speaking as a conservative, Washington scares me.”

Among those in attendance at the event was Clay Redden, the public information officer for the Alabama House of Representatives. While he said his views do not reflect that of the Alabama House, he personally is a fan of Scarborough.

“His show is a very rational program,” Redden said. “(Scarborough) is not afraid to stand his ground, and he can see both sides of an argument. I have been a fan ever since he came on the air.”

The event was organized by Page and Palette. Karen Wilson, the owner, said Scarborough was a perfect fit for Fairhope.

“He’s a conservative, but anybody can relate to him,” she said. “It is actually very hard to put him in a category.”

State Rep. Randy Davis (District 96) introduced Scarborough and Brzezinski to the crowd.