As we discussed the state of the Republican nomination last Wednesday morning, I could not help but think about the ideological discrepancies that currently exist within the Republican party. How can a party nominate and fully support a candidate without a sense of unity? In the Economist's Democracy in America blog, they discussed this topic further:
"It's a structural feature of a contemporary Republican Party whose pieces don't hang together. Pro-Iraq-war neoconservative Republicans cannot actually live with Ron Paul Republicans. Wall Street-hating anti-bail-out Republicans cannot actually live with Wall Street-working bail-out-receiving Republicans. Evangelical-conservative Republicans cannot actually live with libertarian, socially liberal Republicans. Deficit-slashing Republicans cannot live with tax-slashing Republicans. Medicare-cutting Republicans cannot live with Medicare-defending Republicans."
Will the republican party unify in order to have a shot at the election? I was discussing this matter with another intern who said: "Republicans might have trouble choosing a nominee, but at the end of the day we will absolutely band together to make sure Obama does not get into office for a second term." I asked if he was excited about Romney and his responded "no, not really, but us republicans, we stick together."
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2012/01/republican-nomination-9
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That's an interesting point Galia. Especially with the emergence of the Tea Partiers, the Republican Certainly has diverse factions within its ranks. But as a national party with various diverse regions how could it not? To republicans, this elections is and must be about removing Obama from office. If they can create a coalition around that issue alone they have a shot to win, if they do not and continue bickering and accusing one another of not being conservative enough they will lose. In history we have seen coalitions similar to this one work quite well, for example the old Democratic Party and the New Deal coalition. In that party you had very liberal individuals and minorities in the same party as very conservative 'Blue Dog' southern democrats. Obviously the Democratic Party has changed in recent years with the polarization of parties into more clear cut (but not perfect) liberal and conservative sides, parties do change. It is quite possible that the Republican Party becomes a coalition of individuals that consider themselves "Conservatives" of some type, whether that is fiscal, social, or both. As we will read and discuss this week, conservatism is a broad word that is often misrepresented especially in American politics. However, this particular election is especially interesting because it could be a turning point in the party. The many factions of the republican party must put asside their differences and elect the candidate that has the best chance of being elected.
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