For the moment, times are good for the far right. The undeniable success Republicans currently enjoy (incredibly, even Democratic strongholds Massachusetts and Hawaii now have Republican governors) seems to bode well for the future of an ultra-conservative agenda.
But appearances can be deceiving, and while the Grand Old Party currently enjoys control of the White House, for both houses of Congress and 28 governorships, trouble may be lurking on the horizon. There are at least two distinct factions of the GOP.
Speaking in general terms, these factions can be thought of as social conservatives and fiscal conservatives. There's basically harmony between these two factions at the moment, but success often breeds complacency, and the powers that be in the Republican Party must take care not to take the party too far to the right, lest they risk losing we moderates and Independents who can easily (though, often reluctantly) vote for either party.
In my experience, social conservatives are the ones who cause the worst nightmares for liberals and moderates. These are the people whose principle objectives are to see abortion banned and public schools setting aside time for prayer.
Convinced America's "moral fiber" is giving way, these are also the sort who thought the sky was falling when Janet Jackson's right breast was visible for a fraction of a second during a Super Bowl halftime show and have since been pressuring the Federal Communications Commission to "clean up" television. After all, how can we expect today's children to grow into upstanding, responsible adults if they hear "poopy words" on television?
Fiscal conservatives generally are less interested in moral agendas and are more concerned with personal accountability, strong defense and small government. Columnist Stephen W. Stanton has labeled a subset of this group "South Park Republicans." In his words, this group, "... can appreciate the tight abs of Britney Spears or Brad Pitt without worrying about the nation's decaying moral fiber. They strongly believe in liberty, personal responsibility, limited government and free markets. However, they do not live by the edicts of political correctness ... They are the millions of people of every age, race, sex and religion that generally agree that government spending is usually not the best way to deal with the nation's problems."
Of course, we must note that many Republicans are conservative both socially and fiscally and deeply believe both in frugal government and living within the traditional values of the Christian faith. On the other hand, many Republicans (and for that matter, many Independents) are far more in line with one faction or the other. For example, one might passionately oppose abortion but only be lukewarm on cutting taxes. On the flipside, another might be outraged over government spending but not see any reason homosexuals shouldn't marry.
An old sports clich� holds that "winning solves everything." For the time being, that appears to be the case for Republicans, but make no mistake, moderates and Independents are, by our nature, fickle. If Democrats begin to return to the center --- and it should be noted that Hillary Clinton, almost certainly posturing for a run at the Oval Office and a place in history, seems to be taking steps in that direction -- or reactionaries manage to pull the Republican Party too far right, Independents and "South Park Republicans" could reevaluate which party represents the lesser evil and jump ship.
Write to Jake at
jymoore@bsu.edu
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