| The dissent on the right -- and most of the critics quoted above have been vocal supporters of President Bush, and the war -- has led some people (including me) to wonder if the Republican coalition is going to split in the face of this abandonment of principle, especially as the national-security glue that has held the coalition together weakens in the face of success in Iraq. Some are even agitating for that result. I think it just might happen.
Republicans like to point out that you have to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything. The leadership, at least, of the Republican Party has abandoned the principles of small government and federalism that it used to stand for. Trampling traditional limits on governmental power in an earnest desire to do good in high-profile cases has been a hallmark of a certain sort of liberalism, and it's the sort of thing that I thought conservatives eschewed. If I were in charge of making the decision, I might well put the tube back and turn Terri Schiavo over to her family. But I'm not, and the Florida courts are, and they seem to have done a conscientious job. Maybe they came to the right decision, and maybe they didn't; this is a hard case. But respecting the courts' role in the system, and not rushing to overturn all the rules because we don't like the outcome, seems to me to be part of being a member of civilized society rather than a mob. I thought conservatives knew this. Before things are over, they may wish they hadn't forgotten. |
And Glenn isn't alone. Here's former U.S. Senator John C. Danforth - now an Episcopal minister - with his take on the direction his party has taken:
| BY a series of recent initiatives, Republicans have transformed our party into the political arm of conservative Christians. The elements of this transformation have included advocacy of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, opposition to stem cell research involving both frozen embryos and human cells in petri dishes, and the extraordinary effort to keep Terri Schiavo hooked up to a feeding tube.
Standing alone, each of these initiatives has its advocates, within the Republican Party and beyond. But the distinct elements do not stand alone. Rather they are parts of a larger package, an agenda of positions common to conservative Christians and the dominant wing of the Republican Party. ..snip.. During the 18 years I served in the Senate, Republicans often disagreed with each other. But there was much that held us together. We believed in limited government, in keeping light the burden of taxation and regulation. We encouraged the private sector, so that a free economy might thrive. We believed that judges should interpret the law, not legislate. We were internationalists who supported an engaged foreign policy, a strong national defense and free trade. These were principles shared by virtually all Republicans. But in recent times, we Republicans have allowed this shared agenda to become secondary to the agenda of Christian conservatives. As a senator, I worried every day about the size of the federal deficit. I did not spend a single minute worrying about the effect of gays on the institution of marriage. Today it seems to be the other way around. The historic principles of the Republican Party offer America its best hope for a prosperous and secure future. Our current fixation on a religious agenda has turned us in the wrong direction. It is time for Republicans to rediscover our roots. |
These are not meaningless isolated individuals. And this isn't meek criticism. The civil war is coming. In fact, we very well might be witnessing the first shots being fired.
But I'm sorry, I have to ask... How long did they really think they could pull this off? For decades now, the GOP has been talking a great "moral values" game, but come crunch time they've rarely if ever delivered. For decades the Christian right went along with it. But no longer. And why should they? Bush is a born again, the Republicans control both houses of Congress, and "moral values" supposedly delivered the election to Bush after Rove directly courted the fundamentalist vote. Did Rove really think they'd continue to settle for words over deeds?
More to the point... Have none of them read "What's the Matter With Kansas?" And don't they know we're due for a realignment? And this couldn't come at a worse time for the GOP. With Cheney out of the running for 2008 the field is wide open, meaning that there's nothing to stop a brutal battle for the soul of the party of Lincoln.
So... pull up a chair and let's make some popcorn. This one is gonna be fun to watch!
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