Libertarian-minded columnist Ryan H. Sager, writing at the
TechCentralStation site, takes a critical
look at the just-concluded Conservative Political Action
Conference (CPAC), which brought together the right wing of the
right wing (when it comes to opposing immigration, for example,
they make Bush look like a liberal). Sager observes:
Make absolutely no mistake about it: This party [the GOP], among its most hard-core supporters, is not about freedom anymore. It is about foisting its members' version of morality and economic intervention on the country. It is, in other words, the mirror image of its hated enemy.... [A]s one Log Cabiner asked, just when did the Republican Party become the party of Washington, D.C.? Just where in the Constitution is the federal government given the power or responsibility to manage citizens' family lives?
On the TechCentralStation
comments board, reader "Mrs. A" responded:
"I'm not bothered by homosexuals and gay behavior.... And I want to hear what the Log Cabin Republicans have to say. We're scared the traditions we hold in our souls are being ripped up and stomped on. What do they have to say about that?"
This, I think, sums up the fears of many GOP voters, and it's paramount we reach out to these people and convincingly address their fears in a langauge that they understand (hint: it's not the language of entitlement to "benefits"). Because if we don't, it will mean further surrendering the Republican Party and its majority of American voters to the activist right's social conservative hard core.
You can read more about the CPAC meeting on Ryan's "Miscellaneous Objections"
blog.