A House Divided
by
Robert Roy Pool
We often tend to think of the Republican Party as monolithic and unified, but this is true only during times of crisis, or when the Party is hungering to regain power, as in 1994. Once in power, Republican unity evaporates. This is because the Party is composed of four major factions, each of whom has different priorities.
The most extraordinary aspect of the 2012 Republican Presidential race is the way it has exposed these divisions within the Party. Three of the four major factions have their own candidate – Gingrich, Santorum, and Paul. Mitt Romney, in contrast, represents none of the factions explicitly; he attempts to draw support from all four. This explains why his support is not as “deep” as the other candidates. And one faction – the smallest of the four – has no candidate at all, but owns an explosive foreign policy issue that could erupt at any time and transform the campaign.
The Party has been organized around a small set of sometimes conflicting ideas. Each of these ideas has been embraced in order to retain the loyalty of an important faction. All factions support the agendas of the other factions – in theory – but in practice differences flare. One of the principal goals of successful Republican candidates has been to tamp down incipient conflicts, giving no faction a reason to bolt. In the 2012 Presidential campaign this process has not yet occurred, so the divisions within the Party have been exposed for everyone to see.
The Four Big Factions
The Free-Market Republicans, the largest and most dominant faction since about 1880, believe in free enterprise, low taxes, and minimal regulation of business, and they believe that the implementation of this set of ideas ought to be our top national priority at all times. The Free-Market Republicans believe their precepts inevitably produce a strong economy, which is good for everyone. Many of the Free-Market Republicans are owners or executives of businesses themselves, or highly-educated professionals who must rely on their reputations to find work, like doctors, lawyers, dentists, MBAs, architects, engineers, and others. Many of these people head their own small businesses, and so participate in the free-market in their personal lives, living out their beliefs.
The National Security Hawks believe a strong national defense and the destruction of our foreign enemies ought to be our top national priority. Their influence tends to wax and wane depending on the perceived urgency of foreign threats, but they were extremely influential in the years immediately after the 9/11 attacks, when this faction was called the “neo-conservatives” or “neo-cons.” Many of the National Security Hawks are military veterans. A few are former intelligence or law enforcement professionals. This faction exists only at the national level; state parties do not concern themselves with defense.
The Social Conservatives, sometimes called “the Christian Right,” believe that human governments should reflect God’s values and obey God’s commandments. They entered the Party in large numbers in 1988 and 1992. This faction drove the impeachment of Bill Clinton in 1998, and provided George W. Bush with an important component of his “base” in both 2000 and 2004. By 2004 they had become as large as (and even more vociferous than) the traditionally dominant Free-Market faction. Social Conservatives tend to be more downscale than the other Republican factions. They are less likely to have college degrees, more likely to work at blue collar jobs. What they have in common is a strong emphasis on moral values, and, for many of them, devotion to a religion, usually a Protestant evangelical religion.
By 2008, however, the increased dominance of the Social Conservatives provoked a sharp reaction from the Libertarians. This reaction threatens the Republican Coalition in 2012.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me… Defeat
This is because the Libertarians believe exactly the opposite of the Social Conservatives on most social issues. Libertarians believe that an intrusive government is oppressive, and no government has the right to legislate morality. Accordingly, the Libertarians are not just indifferent but actively hostile to attempts by the Social Conservatives to outlaw abortion and gay marriage. Most of all, Libertarians favor a much smaller government, much lower taxes, a non-interventionist (isolationist) foreign policy, and more freedom for individuals in every aspect of society. They favor the legalization of most drugs. This makes Libertarians natural allies of the Free-Market Republicans – the reason their movement was assimilated into the Party to begin with – but natural enemies of the Social Conservatives and the National Security Hawks, both of whom want to use Federal power for purposes Libertarians oppose.
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