Where have all the true conservatives gone? And what has become of the GOP? No longer led by the champions of small government and fiscal caution that brought it to power, it is a troubled and deeply divided party. There is a division within the Republican Party between two primary groups, each with radically different agendas. This rift threatens the very longevity of the Republican Party, which, confident of itself in all its power and glory, has become like a high school prom queen unable to take her eyes off the cheap sparkle of her crown.
The first party in this conflict, and by far the most vociferous, is that of Christian zealots who, if left unbridled, would establish some form of theocracy, staking the 10 Commandments like road signs throughout the nation. It was they who picketed to overturn the Florida State Supreme Court decision not to hear the Terri Schiavo case, ignorant of the critical difference between a trial and an appellate court, and clamoring for Congress to step into shoes it has no business wearing. They cry out to amend the Constitution to prohibit gay marriage, in the process brushing aside states' rights, and fiddling with a document that conservatives are traditionally wary to touch. They are determined to push through their moral agenda, and if it means empowering the federal government, squashing state jurisdiction, or asking a Hindu child to recognize a God that is not his own in his pledge to his country, they acquiesce.
The second group in conflict is that of the Republicans who value states' rights, limiting the ever encroaching reach of the federal
government, and spending the hard-earned tax dollars of Americans with the utmost caution and efficiency. They might be Christian or Jewish or Muslim, but for them religion is a private affair with no place in their politics. Whether or not they wanted Terri Schiavo to live, they value the law and the jurisdiction of states before their own religious or personal bias. They would let states decide how to define marriage. The priorities of these small government conservatives are helping men and women grow their businesses, own their homes, and feel safe on their streets. For this sect of the GOP, moral debates are valuable, but more suited for a city council meeting, not with a pen pressed against the Constitution.
I do not mean to argue that all Republican Christians are by nature wanton zealots ignorant to the true values of conservatism. But unfortunately, as with every religion, the extremists tend to marginalize the non-extremists in the political square. Note that I say "non-extremist" and not "moderate." This is because, contrary to popular belief, one can be orthodox in the practice of one's faith and not be an extremist. It is possible to closely follow a religion without brow-beating on the floor of Congress and grabbing childishly at the Constitution. A non-extremist is simply any religious person who sees no political role for his or her faith. And in the Republican Party, they are being pushed away from the table as the "Christian Coalition" grows to be a more moneyed and powerful lobby and electoral presence. Many Republicans are simply turned off by the increasingly moralistic tone that dominates the party's political discourse and want to have nothing to do with it.
The Republican Party, much like the Democrats in 2000 and 2004, is in trouble and confused about its priorities. In its successful charge to overtake every branch of government, the GOP's flag has fallen and its soldiers are running in two different directions. What then is to be done? Republicans committed to the values of the Founders must regroup and summon leaders like Newt Gingrich, the General of the Republican Revolution, out of the shadows. They must resurrect the party values that brought it to power and push out the big government evangelical Christians. When Pat Robertson speaks up, they must speak louder. Send the extreme evangelicals to the Democrats to join their mess of political voices unified by their one common theme that big government is the answer. Or better yet, lure back the Libertarians, whose values truly reflect the founding principles of the Republican Party, and force the extremist evangelical Christians into the margins.
What Republicans do not seem to realize, is that their pretty crown is in jeopardy. Democrats are watching as Republicans fall apart from the inside out, waiting to steal it back. True conservatives care little for sparkling crowns or self-congratulations, and it is high time they take back their party.
Ashley Samelson is a junior majoring in political science. She is currently studying abroad in Washington, D.C.
