I'm surprised you didn't call it the "Contract on America". <G>
Conservatives are brought together by the notion of conservativism. There are fiscal conservatives, social (religious) conservatives, constitutional conservatives and various combinations of the three.
The fighting, imho, occurs between the extremes of fiscal and social conservatives for control of the party. Those who are in the party purely from the fiscal perspective tend to be not as interested in the moral issues. While those who are interested in the moral issues tend to be somewhat, if not very, interested in fiscal matters. That's why the moderate (see fiscal) side of the party tends to lead, while the other side is "disenfranchised" (to use a current buzz word). Most conservatives share the desire to keep government out of our back pockets, but there is a great divide on the morality issue.
Yet, in the end, the moral side will show up to vote, even if the candidate is of the fiscal conservative stripe (see the Bushes). I am not sure that fiscal republicans would always vote for a Pat Buchanan or Pat Robertson.
JMHO,
LoF |
