tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36404602.post824674180295394948..comments2023-10-26T05:08:20.977-04:00Comments on Connecting.the.Dots: Republican Squeaky WheelsROBERT STEINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11999996852219220599noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36404602.post-80794028153842701062007-12-27T11:21:00.000-05:002007-12-27T11:21:00.000-05:00As Ryan Sager documents in his book "The Elephant ...As Ryan Sager documents in his book <EM>"The Elephant in the Room"</EM> (my review <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/AA9CZG4IGR8HX/ref=cm_pdp_profile_reviews?ie=UTF8&sort%5Fby=MostRecentReview" REL="nofollow">here) </A>the Fusionist Social/Fiscal Conservative alliance has been and will continue to be critical to GOP presidential electoral success. Sager labels these constituencies as Evangelicals and Libertarians, but whatever you want to call them, the GOP cannot elect a President unless both constituencies agree on supporting a candidate. <BR/><BR/>I have seen a number of pundits and bloggers opine that the "Social Conservatives", "Cultural Conservatives", "Religious Right", "Evangelicals", are the problem with the GOP, and need to be somehow marginalized by the party. This thesis flies in the face of history, and is a prescription for permanent Republican minority status, and possibly the end of the party. The key to Republican success is not marginalizing the evangelicals, but rather finding a candidate that can be supported by both evangelicals and libertarians (again I am using Sager's labels).<BR/><BR/>There are clearly tensions, conflicting goals and different values motivating these factions. There are also many special interests/factions that make up the Democratic party are also often an odds. I don't seem to see equally broad (and equally inaccurate) pronouncements that a specific Democratic candidate de-emphasizing one constituency in the Democratic party is a requirement for the Democratic Party to succeed. <BR/><BR/>A Republican candidate that embraces the values voter as well as the libertarian / fiscal conservative voter has worked before and can work again.mwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11181222537529037359noreply@blogger.com