Factions in the Republican Party (United States)

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The Republican Party of the United States is composed of various different groups or factions. Although their interests at times conflict, they share enough in common to remain in the same party.

By and large the factions are informal and unorganized. They do not have their own organizations, newspapers, or paid memberships. Defining the views of any "faction" of any American political party is difficult.

Contents 1 Conservatives 1.1 Religious Right 1.2 Neoconservatives 1.3 Social conservatives 1.4 Fiscal conservatives 1.5 Security Oriented 1.6 States' Rights Oriented 1.7 Paleoconservatives 2 Moderates and Liberals 2.1 Moderates 2.2 Log Cabin Republicans 2.3 Liberals 2.4 Libertarians 3 Overlap 4 References 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Conservatives

"Conservative" covers most Republicans, and they can be subdivided into the following factions.

[edit] Religious Right

The term "religious right" is often used synonymously with Christian right because most of its members are fundamentalist Protestants, Evangelicals traditionalist Catholics, Mormons and some Orthodox Jews. The Religious Right has become a powerful force within the GOP. This faction is socially conservative, believing that religion should not be separated from governance. Its major legislative issues in recent years include efforts to criminalize abortion, opposition to legalized same-sex marriage, and discouraging some forms of taxpayer-funded embryonic stem cell research. They have supported a greater role of religious organizations in delivering welfare programs.

Prominent Religious Right Republicans include TV personality Pat Robertson, former Attorney General John Ashcroft, U.S. Senators Rick Santorum (Pennsylvania) and Sam Brownback (Kansas), and activist Gary Bauer. The National Federation of Republican Assemblies is a Religious Right organization that operates as a faction of the Republican Party. The Christian Coalition is a Religious Right activist organization considered allied with the party. President Bush is also most identified with this faction.

[edit] Neoconservatives

Neoconservatives promote an interventionist foreign policy, including pre-emptive military action against designated enemy nations under certain circumstances. They were the strongest supporters of the war in Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein; many of these 'neocons' were originally considered to be liberals or were affiliated with the Democratic Party in earlier days.

Neoconservatives are credited with importing into the Republican party a more active international policy from the Liberal viewpoint -- the Republican party was generally thought to be on a course towards isolationism as a reaction against the perceived international failures of Bill Clinton. Where neoconservatives differ from contemporary liberals is in their general distrust of international institutions, in particular the UN, largely on the criticism that these institutions are undemocratic (in that they often represent the interests of unelected or corrupt regimes). To that end, neoconservatives are willing to act unilaterally when they believe it serves either American interests or a moral position to do so.

Those considered among the neoconservative include Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and pundits Charles Krauthammer and David Frum.

[edit] Social conservatives

Social conservatives believe in promoting traditional moral values and social mores to preserve and improve American society. They have been especially active in taking traditionalist positions on issues involving sexual standards and gender roles. Social conservatives, like the Religious Right, generally oppose absolute Separation of Church and State. Most oppose abortion and gay marriage. They are dubious about affirmative action, arguing it too often turns into quotas. They tend to support a strong military and are opposed to gun control. Most social conservatives oppose illegal immigration, which puts them in opposition to the business community. Social conservatives support stronger law enforcement and often disagree with the libertarians. On the issue of school vouchers the group is split between those who support the concept (believing that "big government" education is a failure) and those who oppose the concept (believing that "big government" would then have a "right" to dictate the school's, and more importantly the sponsoring church's, positions on controversial social issues).

[edit] Fiscal conservatives

The fiscal conservatives favor large reductions in overall taxation, reduced domestic spending, personalized accounts for Social Security, and decreased regulation. Before 1930 the Northeastern pro-manufacturing factions of the GOP was strongly committed to high tariffs, but since 1945 it has been more supportive of free-market principles and treaties for open trade. Prominent fiscal conservatives include former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and activist Grover Norquist. The Club for Growth is a pro-Republican organization that endorses fiscal conservatives for office.

[edit] Security Oriented

This is a mood among voters rather than an identifiable bloc of politicians. It emerged after the September 11 attacks. This group includes people who, regardless of other social or economic views, are very alarmed at threats to the USA. This current has usually been satisfied with President Bush's policies, but recently has criticised him regarding the issue of illegal immigration from Mexico. Politicians of this nature include Senator John Warner, Senator Chuck Hagel and Congressmen Peter Hoekstra. Many of these types of Republicans associate themselves with the political philosophy of Neolibertarianism.

[edit] States' Rights Oriented

When Democrats hold the White House the GOP usually supported smaller government. Similar to the libertarian faction, States' rights Republicans believe in making the federal government small, keeping and giving important powers to the states, such as gun control laws, abortion laws, regulations on marriage, and mapping of voting districts. Recently, many Republicans took strong positions against States' rights with respect to the Federal Marriage Amendment, in the Terri Schiavo case, in the Kelo case regarding eminent domain, and in cases involving assisted suicide laws.

[edit] Paleoconservatives

The paleoconservatives are not strongly represented in the political sphere, but are most visible in publications (e.g. The American Conservative and Chronicles) and through such think-tanks as the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. They are traditionalist with a strong distrust of a modern political ideologies and statecraft, which they call the managerial state

The paleoconservative worldview is generally conservative on social issues (e.g. support for gun rights) and oppose multiculturalism, but favor a protectionist policy on international trade and isolationist foreign policy. Prominent paleoconservatives, such as Pat Buchanan, have spoken against NAFTA and what they see as a neoconservative takeover of the party. Buchanan left the Republican Party after his GOP primary races in 1992 and 1996, and ran as a third-party candidate in the 2000 election.

[edit] Moderates and Liberals

[edit] Moderates

Moderates within the GOP tend to be, to varying degrees, fiscally conservative and socially liberal. While they often share the economic views of other Republicans - e.g. balanced budgets, lower taxes, free trade, deregulation, welfare reform - moderate Republicans differ in that they may be for some gay rights, abortion rights, environmental regulation, federal funding of education, fewer restrictions on legal immigration and illegal immigration, abolition of the death penalty, civil rights laws, legalization of drugs, stem cell research, antiwar policies, or any of the above. Deficit spending is a highly contentious issue, within this faction as well as outside of it. Some moderate Republicans criticize what they see as the Bush administration's military extravagance in foreign policy, or criticize its tax cuts. Others may support deficit spending, but feel it ought to be more directed towards social projects. Concerning foreign policy, moderates may be less interventionist than neoconservatives, or place greater value on multilateral institutions. See Republican In Name Only. Also see compassionate conservative.

Moderate Republicans include U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania), Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, and former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani. Members of some of the other factions sometimes characterize moderates as "Republican In Name Only". The Republican Main Street Partnership is a network supporting moderate Republicans for office, while the Republican Leadership Council is similar in direction. Former New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman founded the "It's My Party Too!" PAC in order to promote moderate Republicans for office. The Republican Majority for Choice is a PAC of and for pro-choice Republicans, and is often allied with the moderate branch of the party. Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader and 1996 Presidential nominee Bob Dole has supported the "Main Street" Republicans.

[edit] Log Cabin Republicans

The Log Cabin Republicans are a group of gay Republicans and other Republicans who favor gay rights. Their agenda is to remove any language against gay rights from the platforms of the party and to support the candidacies of Republicans who favor gay rights. They are at odds with the Religious Right. Sometimes they are jokingly referred to as "closet libertarians" for their socially liberal and fiscally conservative views.

[edit] Liberals

See also Rockefeller Republicans

In the 1930s the terms "liberal" and "conservative" were introduced, to refer to supporters and opponents of the New Deal. Most Republicans were conservative opponents of the New Deal, but not all. In the Northeast were many Republicans who denounced the corruption and inefficiency of the New Deal, but supported its basic programs. Other names for liberal Republicans are Rockefeller Republican and the pejorative Republican in Name Only. The notable liberal Republicans include Fiorello LaGuardia, George Norris, Harold Stassen, Wendell Willkie, Alf Landon, Thomas E. Dewey, Nelson Rockefeller, Earl Warren and Michael Bloomberg. Historians debate whether Richard Nixon belongs to this group—his rhetoric was conservative but his policies were liberal in many areas.

[edit] Libertarians

See also South Park Republican

The libertarian faction of the Republican Party emphasizes free markets and minimal social controls. They oppose government social spending, regulation and taxes. They are generally split against the party with regard to gay rights, abortion, foreign policy and stem-cell research, although they often also run counter to the Democratic Party's positions (for example, being for gay marriage but against judicial action on the matter). Similar to the fiscal conservative faction, libertarian Republicans seek to privatize most governmental assets or devolve them to the states; massive reductions in overall federal taxation, and an overhaul of the current American tax system; deregulation of industries; and open international trade. Unlike many conservative Republicans, however, the libertarian Republicans tend to oppose the "War on Drugs" and criminalization of prostitution, American membership in most international alliances, restrictive immigration policies, and the foreign policies that neoconservatives espouse. During the 2004 Republican National Convention, this faction "butted heads" with the Religious Right faction over the party platform.

The libertarian faction is represented in the party by the Republican Liberty Caucus, which also actively courts members of the United States Libertarian Party to seek office as Republicans in order to increase the voice of libertarianism within the party. U.S. Representative Ron Paul (Texas), the most visible member of the caucus, ran for U.S. President in 1988 on the ticket of the Libertarian Party. Late U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater is sometimes credited with being the father of this faction. Apart from Paul it has no prominent leader inside the GOP.

Neolibertarians are intellectuals, especially from economics and political science, who support laissez-faire. They believe that free markets are the cure for most ills of the world. They oppose the Kyoto Protocol. Milton Friedman and Alan Greenspan are representative leaders. In domestic affairs they support lower taxes, deregulation, and personal freedoms, including ending the War on Drugs and legalizing prostitution. They generally oppose government monopolies, especially monopolistic public schools. They want charter schools or school vouchers to turn the educational world into more of a free market. The term "neoliberal" is often applied to Bill Clinton and his followers, but is never used for Republicans. The word "conservative" is used for what some political scientists call "neoliberal".

[edit] Overlap

There is often plenty of overlap between the various categories. For example, a Republican may side with the "neoconservatives" on foreign policy issues, yet also support a "religious right" social agenda and a "fiscally conservative" economic vision.

Partly because of that overlap, it is difficult to accurately claim which faction of the party currently holds the most power, though such a question is the topic of much speculation. After the 2003 Iraq War many argued the "neoconservative" wing of the party was clearly dominant, as they had been the faction the most supportive of the war. After President George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004, however, many attributed the high turnout of Republican voters who claimed to be motivated by "moral values" as a sign that the Religious Right faction of the party had gained considerable influence.

[edit] References

• Michael Barone and Richard E. Cohen. The Almanac of American Politics, 2006 (2005) 1900 pages of minute, nonpartisan detail on every state and district and member of Congress.
• Thomas Byrne Edsall. Building Red America: The New Conservative Coalition and the Drive For Permanent Power (2006) sophisticated analysis by liberal
• Michael Crane. The Political Junkie Handbook: The Definitive Reference Book on Politics (2004), nonpartisan
• Thomas Frank. What's the Matter with Kansas (2005) insightful attack by a liberal.
• Bruce Frohnen, Jeremy Beer, and Jeffery O. Nelson, eds. American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia (2006) 980 pages of articles by 200 conservative scholars
• Tom Hamburger and Peter Wallsten. One Party Country: The Republican Plan for Dominance in the 21st Century (2006), hostile
• Adrian Wooldridge and John Micklethwait. The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America (2004), sophisticated nonpartisan analysis

[edit] See also

• Neoconservative - Paleoconservative Conflict
• Factions in the Democratic Party (United States)
• College Republicans
• Republican National Coalition for Life
• Republicans Abroad
• Republicans For Choice
• Ripon Society
• Teenage Republicans
• Young Republicans

[edit] External links

• "A Guide to the Republican Herd" New York Times Oct 5, 2006 interactive graphic
• Belief Spectrum Brings Party Splits Washington Post October 4, 1998