Posted by
Andrews on Monday, January 21, 2008 10:48:58 AM
Recently a lot of pundits have been pontificating about the "broken coalition" of the Republican party. To their minds the struggle between the social conservatives, fiscal conservative and defense conservatives during the primaries is a sign that the "big tent" Republican party of the last 25 or 30 years is falling apart.
I beg to differ. It is akin to watching a boxing match and saying "those guys sure do hate one another!" Yes, there may be enmity between the boxers, but they may also be best friends outside the ring. The fact that they pummel one another during a boxing match says nothing about their true relationship.
Likewise, watching a primary to evaluate the health of a coalition is a bad idea. During the primaries the various groups making up a coalition will inevitably jockey for position, trying to get the greatest representation for their cause at the expense of the other members. That is one of the reasons the primaries exist. The primaries are always a time for bickering, scuffling and horse trading, the conflict between pressure groups is inevitable. To look at the primary races and say there is insoluble enmity between the members of the coalition is foolish.
So, please, pundits, wait until the primaries end. If the various segments of the party cannot pull together behind the nominee, THEN you can tell me about the fractured coalition, but at least wait until then. Do not look at the infighting that occurs during every primary (at least every primary that does not start with an obvious front runner) and tell me the party is hopelessly broken.
The fighting you see is not something to fear, it is the sign of vibrant, active party. The various groups obviously think the Republican party has enough chance of winning to bother fighting for the nomination. When the fighting during primary season stops, THEN I will worry about the future of the party. As long as the party is something worth a struggle, I do not worry about a little bit of internecine bickering.
As I said, until the primaries are over we have no way to know what the future will hold. So no more premature predictions of doom. Let us wait and see.