Jim Devine wrote:
> I asked her a question: what about the idea
> of trying to exploit divisions within the GOP, e.g., between
> free-market "libertarians" and traditionalists in order to build her
> party's strength. She hadn't heard such an idea! (isn't the phrase
> "wedge issue" common knowledge among politicos and politicas?)
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In Canada, the opposition Conservatives have been plagued by this division.
It led to the split and subsequent demise of the right-wing Canadian
Alliance, which was based in Alberta, aka Texas north, led by the Christian
fundamentalist Stockwell Day. Day was succeeded by Stephen Harper, a
libertarian policy wonk backed by Eastern Canadian interests, and the CA
reunited with the Conservatives on a platform distancing it from social
conservatism. But the reconstructed Conservatives haven't really been able
to shake the CA's cornpone legacy, especially in the cities and in Ontario,
where they have to break the Liberal stranglehold in order to have a chance
at governing. It looked as if this was about to happen earlier in the spring
when a political scandal put them way ahead of the Liberals in the polls and
they were poised to bring down the government and force an early election.
But the government recovered, public opinion indicated it was less concerned
about Liberal corruption than Conservative reaction, and the Conservatives
are now again running way back and just ahead of the NDP, which has gained a
bit in popularity.
So there is some evidence to support Jim's suggestion that these divisions are exploitable. In the US, they've already surfaced over stem cells and terminal care, and could develop further if there were serious attempts by a Bush-appointed Supreme Court to encroach on existing reproductive and gay rights.
MG