noahstephenson

It is somewhat of a political truism that a Party divided against itself can not stand. CQ is reporting that a new PAC is being created, called the Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF).  Its purpose? GOP Sen. from South Carolina Jim DeMint explains:

donors who might be reluctant to give their money to a party that has strayed from conservative principles may be willing to give to individual conservative candidates. He’s hoping those candidates can polish the tarnished brand and provide an alternative to the Democratic Party.

This may all sound good and nice for conservatives worried about the unraveling of the Conservative Movement since the disastrous (for Republicans at least) 2006 Midterm election, but reading between the lines, CQ reporter Jonathan Allen notes:

It ...may sound like a recipe for disaster, a vehicle for challenging incumbent Republicans or knocking off viable moderate Republicans in open seats or those occupied by Democrats. Or, at the very least, forcing the winner to spend extra money in the primary to fend off the Senate Conservative Fund’s independent expenditures on an opponent’s behalf.

With all the Republican problems lurking out there this election cycle, what they need the least are conservative elected Republicans forming their own PACs and threatening to not tow the party line by funding candidates by conservative ideology rather than political party affiliation.

As I noted yesterday, the Republican Study Committe, the largest group in the House Republican caucus, is planning on leading a revolt against House GOP leadership this fall.  That, combined with DeMint's SCF, reflect the fact that Republican woes run much deeper than contrary domestic political winds.

What we are witnessing is a crisis of Republican ideology.  Conservatives have controlled the Republican Party since the Reagan Revolution yet many people, especially conservatives, find themselves asking, have any of the conservative bedrock principles been achieved?  Is there a conservative majority on the Supreme Court? NO.  Is abortion illegal?  NO. Is gay marriage constitutionally outlawed? NO. Is there limited government? NO. What about a balanced budget?  NO.

What exactly have conservatives accomplished other than impeaching a President, drawing down regulations of financial markets (which only has led to the current mortgage/subprime etc .,crisis), introduced record budget deficits, started a war, and created a climate of partisan gridlock in Congress?

Is it really any wonder then that after the 2006 Midterm elections, Mariana Trench-like approval ratings for Bush, a faltering economy, and a quagmire in Iraq that conservatives are calling it quits? As the American public looks towards a new Democratic governance in Washington, conservatives are left to mutter among themselves about what went wrong-blaming it somehow, on the Republican Party, rather than their own failures which sought power over substance and change.