A few years ago, a few Republicans had what they thought was a great idea. They would create a majority party by changing their focus from individual liberty, small government and non-interventionism to a new philosophy. They would create a bond between the business conservatives and the cultural conservatives (fundamentalist theocrats).Of course, they didn't really want to change. They just wanted to use the theocrats to win some elections. But once the door was opened, the theocrats flooded in and before anyone realized what was happening, they had taken over. Old-time conservatives were kicked to the curb and new "cultural" conservatives were installed as party leaders.
These new theocratic leaders even changed the definition of what is a conservative. It wasn't long before you couldn't be a conservative unless you opposed abortion, hated homosexuals, wanted to replace science with religion in public schools, thought it was fine to spread "American values" with military power, believed the Bible was more important than the Constitution in governmental affairs and despised any political opponent as being "un-American".
That is now the current state of the Republican Party, and it worked for a while -- mostly because the Democrats seemed to have lost their way and their vision. But it could not last, because the majority of Americans do not share those views. The majority in this country believe in a woman's right to choose, think stem cell research must be done, believe evolution could easily be God's way to create humans, oppose the tyranny of any single religion and believe American ideals can only be spread by example and not by military power.
The Republicans now stand at a crossroad. Do they continue down the path of "cultural conservatism" or return to their roots of "traditional conservatism". The future of their party depends on which path they choose.
If they continue down the path of cultural (or theocratic) conservatism, then they are doomed to be a minority party long into the future. Many conservative blogs and thinkers are saying they simply weren't conservative enough in the 2008 election, but that is very wrong. The simple fact is that most Americans do not share those beliefs.
To survive and return to power, Republicans must move their party back toward the center. But at this point, I'm not sure that is even possible. If traditional conservatives regain control and try to do that, it is very possible that the theocrats will break away and form their own party. That would also assure that Republicans would be a minority for years to come.
Can the Republicans heal their party? It won't be easy, and it will require that many of them temper their beliefs. That is not an easy thing to do. Only time will tell us whether they are up to the task at hand.
Pretty good analysis for an outsider, jobsanger :)
ReplyDeleteI see the divide slightly differently. It's between the so-called "Country Club Republicans" and "Wal-Mart Republicans." This divide goes at least as far back as the 1960's; Rockefeller and Buckley were Country Club Republicans, Goldwater and Reagan were architypical Wal-Mart Republicans (although they obviously weren't call that back then).
The coexistence between these two groups has always been tenuous at best. As a college-educated Northeasterner who's lived for a decade overseas, but who also served twenty years in the Army, has lived in Texas for 15 years and is an evangelical Christian, I consider myself bi-cultural in this divide.
Despite their differences, these two factions do share common interests that have held the party together under a mutually respected leader (Reagan). I can't tell you whether there will be a reconciliation, but the anonymous trashing of Sarah Palin by members of the McCain campaign doesn't bode well. What was clearly intended to be a post-election power grab by the Country Club Republicans may end up being a circular firing squad.
We certainly do live in interesting (if not inter-resting) times.