Factions in the Republican Party (United States)

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.

Conservatives

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

Religious Right

The term "religious right" is often used synonymously with Christian right because most of its members are fundamentalist Protestants, traditionalist Catholics or Mormons; some Orthodox Jews can be considered to belong to this category. The Religious Right has become a powerful force within the GOP. This faction is socially conservative, believes that religion should not be separated from governance or education. Though what constitutes moral values is a matter of dispute, the Religious Right has consisted of social and cultural conservatives united in discouraging and legally restricting abortion, opposition to legalized same-sex marriage, discouraging some forms of taxpayer-funded embryonic stem cell research that involves the cloning and destruction of human embryos, promoting school prayer, and encouraging displays of public religiousity on coins ("In God We Trust"), or Christmas diplays on government property. They have initiated or approved the increased role of religious organisations in welfare provision. In recent years they have been active in lawsuits expanding religious expression in public schools and colleges, such as allowing religious clubs to meet and proselytize. The Religious Right rejects Thomas Jefferson's notion that there should be a "wall of separation" [1] between religion and the state. In recent years portions of the Religious Right have been active in attacking the teaching of scientific evolution in the public school curriculum.

Prominent Religious Right Republicans include pundit Pat Robertson, former Attorney General John Ashcroft, U.S. Senators Rick Santorum (Pennsylvania) and Sam Brownback (Kansas), and activists Ralph Reed and Gary Bauer. The National Federation of Republican Assemblies is a Religious Right organization that opperates as a faction of the Republican Party. The Christian Coalition is a Religious Right activist organization considered allied with the party.

Neoconservatives

Neoconservatives promote an interventionist foreign policy, including pre-emptive military action against designated enemy nations under certain circumstances. They are the strongest supporters of the war in Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein. They are willing to act unilaterally when they believe it serves American interests 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 Jeane Kirkpatrick and David Frum.

Social conservatives

Social conservatives believe in keeping tradition. Social conservatives, like the Religious Right, oppose Seperation of Church and State, abortion, prostitution, divorce, and gay marrige. The social conservatives oppose equal rights, affirmative action, and enviromental regulation. They tend to support a strong military and gun ownership rights.In contrast with the fiscal conservatives, the social conservatives oppose pornography, drugs, and immigration. Social conservatives sometimes support a big government to enforce their laws, so they often disagree with the libertarians.

Fiscal conservatives

The fiscal conservative faction favors 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.

Security Oriented

This is a mood among voters rather than an identifiable bloc of politicians. It emerged after the September 11th 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. They probably support gun ownership rights for self-defense.

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. However, in 2005 many Republicans took strong positions against States' rights in the Terry Schiavo case, in the Kelso case regarding eminent domain, and in cases involving assisted suicide laws.

Paleoconservatives

The paleoconservative group has a "blue-collar", populist tinge with a strong distrust of a centralized federal government, and is most prominent among rural Republicans. They are 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. Many like Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado are also active against immigration in general. Prominent paleoconservatives, such as Pat Buchanan, have spoken against NAFTA and what they see as a neoconservative takeover of the party. Buchanan, an extreme paleoconservative, left the Republican Party and ran as a third-party candidate in the 2000 election.

Moderates and Liberals

Apart from the multiple groups of conservatives listed above, there are numerous factions of more liberal and moderate Republicans. The largest of these is the "Moderates".

Neoliberals

Neoliberals are very simalar to the fiscal conservatives. They support laissez-faire markets, big business, and oppose the Kyoto Protocal, and other policies that favor capitalism.

Neolibertarians

The neolibertarians emphasize their belief that free markets is the main objective of government. They have a fiscal conservative econonic policy, and can be socially conservative. However, they also believe in a limited governmenmt, so they sometimes believe the states should decide about some of the social issues.

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 affirmative action, some gay rights, abortion rights, environmental regulation, federal funding of education, gun control, fewer restrictions on legal immigration, 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 more be 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. Senators Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania) and John McCain (Arizona), 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.

Log Cabin Republicans

The Log Cabin Republicans are a small 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.

Liberals

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, Thomas E. Dewey, Nelson Rockefeller, Earl Warren and Michael Bloomberg. Historians debate whether Richard Nixon belongs to this grtoup--his rhetoric was conservative but his policies were liberal in many areas. See also Rockefeller Republicans

Libertarians

The libertarian faction of the Republican Party emphasizes free markets and minimal social controls. They oppose government social spending, regulation and taxes. They are divided with regard to gay rights, abortion, foreign policy and stem-cell research. Similar to the fiscal conservative faction, libertarian Republicans seek to privatize most govermental 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", 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. Represenative 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

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 "neconservative" 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.

See also

• Factions of the Democratic Party

External Links

Belief Spectrum Brings Party Splits Washington Post October 4, 1998