Less than five years after political conservatives of all stripes spoke with certainty about a permanent Republican majority, the party finds itself out of power, out of influence and, arguably, out of ideas. As it wanders in the political wilderness, the GOP must begin to make some difficult choices about what it intends to stand for; whether it will purge itself of the ideologically impure, or whether it will cut a deal with the devil just to stay viable. The growing divide in the Republican Party today is perhaps most clearly illustrated by the debate about President Obama's economic stimulus bill.
Republicans in Congress have uniformly refused to play ball, insisting that more tax cuts are the solution (in the same way that "more bullets!" is an effective remedy for a gunshot wound). Republican governors have been more divided, with Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Haley Barbour of Mississippi, Mark Sanford of South Carolina and others condemning the money, while Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Charlie Crist of Florida have enthusiastically embraced the funds.
This example highlights a greater problem for the GOP. Like any political party thrown unceremoniously from power into ignominious near-irrelevance, the Republicans are in the midst of a severe identity crisis. The eclectic coalition of social conservatives, fiscal conservatives and foreign-policy hawks that has held since the 1980s is in grave danger of falling apart because every Republican is absolutely sure that he or she knows what is best. Rather than taking some time to create a national platform, individual Republican factions appear to be striking out on their own, hoping that if they yell loud enough, the others will follow their lead.
Schwartzenegger, Crist and moderate GOP senators like Olympia Snowe (Maine), Susan Collins (Maine) and Arlen Specter (Pa.) appear to be leading a "common sense Conservatism" movement, which has drawn such animosity from other Republicans that new RNC Chairman Michael Steele publicly mused about punishing the three senators during an interview with Neil Cavuto. Meanwhile, the House Republicans are leading the "Principles Matter More Than Your Job" crusade; Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) and Mike Huckabee are still "just like you," and Mitt Romney is waiting for the field to sort itself out before he decides who he has to be to get elected this time.
Each faction is sniping at the others, and the intra-party squabbling has gotten so distracting that one would forget about the Democrats entirely if they didn't keep passing legislation.
The GOP has two choices if it wants to be a political player again. It can either find a clear set of principles around which its members can rally — similar to Newt Gingrich's successful "Contract with America" — or it can become what it always insisted it was: a big-tent party.
Both options are perilous, of course; the first risks alienating current members, while the second dilutes governing principles. Yet Republicans in Congress and in the governors' mansions will have to make that choice if they want the GOP to regain its credibility in the years ahead.
