Cracks showing in GOP coalition

[ailsagirl]

Republicans torn between toeing the party line, appeasing more moderate voters.

By Steven Thomma
Knight Ridder Newspapers
5/29/05

WASHINGTON -- Fault lines in the Republican coalition are threatening the party's fabled unity, forcing it to choose between a bruising purge of independent-minded dissidents and accommodation of their views on such issues as federal judges and Social Security.

Long-simmering tensions in the party burst into public this past week with a double-play show of force by moderates against the conservatives who rule the House of Representatives, Senate and White House.

Republican moderates pushed through a House vote in defiance of President Bush and House leaders to expand federal financing for stem-cell research using human embryos. Others brokered a Senate deal that allowed some of Bush's judicial nominees to get confirmed but left Democrats with the power to block others.

The reasons for the maverick moderates' sudden success are numerous. They recognize that polls show Washington gridlock is turning off many Americans. The intervention by Congress and Bush into the Terri Schiavo case also backfired with the public. And a pending vacuum of GOP leadership is prompting unusually early maneuvering for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, dividing their camp.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050529/NEWS06/505290453/1012

[Old and In the Way]

1. The Republican coalition can't hold much longer.

Either the theo-cons take complete control....and the moderates leave in droves...or the moderates wrest back control and the theo-cons become disillusioned and start a 3rd party. The 8 year domination of the Bush cult will indeed leave a leadership vacuum and should lead to a bitter struggle for the soul of that carcass.

[funflower]

2. I'm not so sure. The various factions are all helpful to have around come

election time.

[wtmusic]

3. It's about the war

If there was little violence in Iraq the party would be as strong as ever. At this point, even if Junior got Social Security, Patriot II, John Bolton, it wouldn't matter.

Right after the Iraqi "elections" Republicans were crowing about a dynasty. But now Dubya's starting to look like a loser to other people too.

[yurbud]

4. they backed themselves into a corner with religious right

Bush convinced them he was one of them, so if he backs away, it will be worse than if he had started with the disdain for them his dad has.

GOP moderates understand that the religious right and the similar neocon witch-hunting impulse are becoming repugnant to moderate and swing voters, so moderate pols are risking the far right to keep the votes of the moderately sane.


Also, if Bush started to placate the moderates, he would have to start playing by the normal rules of governing rather than incremental authoritarianism. Any return to something like the rule of law applying to the White House would result in everyone but the cook and janitor going to prison.

[Demeter]

5. Losing Momentum

Somebody turned the echo chamber off this spring, and actual news hits the pages of the NYTimes on a regular basis, diluting the puff pieces and the outright chicanery.

With Social Security going nowhere, and the Democratic legislators starting to form a line and hold it, the GOP juggernaut is stuck in the sands of its own making. All it took was a little opposition--what took the Democratic party so long to try?

The anti-war demonstrations of the people by the people were totally ignored and the base turned off. There should be a revival of that public action now. Strike while the iron is hot, folks!

[ailsagirl]

6. Yes, things haven't been going too well since *'s re-"election"

To think it's been a little over four months since the buffoon was "reinaugurated" !!

Things certainly have taken a nose-dive for the repugs :nopity:

schadenfreude

:evilgrin:

[Vitruvius]

7. "When thieves fall out, honest people can only profit..."

n/t