Republican Tug of War
by Mary Pitt
While the influence of third, fourth, and even fourth political parties appears to have been suspended in the 2004
elections, it is not unreasonable to consider what effect will be caused by the coalition of multi-national
industrialists and ''born-again'' Christians on the future makeup of the existing parties and the future of the national
political scene. Now that the "Republican Party" has, through this coalition, siezed majority control of both house of
Congress, each of these factions are going to be exerting pressure on President Bush to concentrate on their agenda and
to become militant in the process.
With the exponential growth of spending for the military, there is a handy excuse for the demise of the Social Security
system as we know it, a reduction in education funding and welfare programs which will find little opposition from
either camp. However, it will also require some spending of President Bush's "political capital" in order to accomplish
it on behalf of the industrialists and the anti-tax conservatives. As with the budget surplus which he inherited, he may
find that this account will soon be overdrawn. One can hardly consider his slender victory to be overwhelming support.
The impact point will be when the Christian conservatives demand that their agenda also be pushed to fruition. The
"political capital" account may be as far in deficit as is the national budget and the administration may be unable to
deliver as promised the "support of marriage" amendment or the one that would "outlaw" all abortions, much less the
Constitutional amendment that would allow Arnold Schwarzennnegger to run for President in 2008. While broken campaign
promises are nothing new to the Bushes, either the former or the latter, these are very bad people to whom to break a
promise.
Almost sixty years ago, a similar problem arose in the Democratic Party which displeased the Southern faction of the
party. This faction spun off a new party, called the Dixiecrats, which devastated the Democratic Party, splitting their
vote and the public influence. This party eventually passed into history as their needs were met by either of the
more-established parties, but their influence was felt for years. We can foresee a similar occurrence in the Republican
Party of today.
Some years ago, some of the Evangelical Christians decided to politicize their congregations and to make their influence
felt in all levels of government and they have determinedly forged ahead toward the goal of "converting" the United
States into a "Christian nation", according to their views. In many states, there are now two Republican Parties, one of
the old-line political conservatives and another of the Evangelicals. While the states are comfortably "red", they can
concentrate on in-fighting among the factions without fear of outside influence. These conflicts are seldom witnessed
outside the boundaries of the state involved until they become "newsworthy" and the national media takes notice.
A prime example of this occurred in Kansas when the Evangelicals gained control of the State Board of Education and
voted to ban the teaching of evolution in schools, requiring instead that "creationism" be the curriculum. This move was
beaten back at that time by a compromise to include both doctrines under the title of "intelligent design", but it will
arise again as the same electoral outcome has once again been accomplished. The ban on organized prayer in schools was
met with organization of a "Meet Me At the Pole" groups who met around the flagpole before or after school for public
prayer and demonstration. They did give up the religious invocation at graduation ceremonies but prompted selected
students to offer their own "spontaneous" prayers as part of their speech in acceptance of honors or awards. These
people are as inspired, determined, and diligent as any group of secular protestors in our history and are totally
convinced that their cause is just.
If President Bush does not, for whatever reason, fulfill his repayment of the debt which he truly owes to this wing of
his political coalition, we may see an empowered and militant third party arise out of the Republican Party which will
split it completely and leave it powerless for years to come. However, whether or not this happens, we are faced with a
fight to the death of democracy as we know it. The "religious right" subscribe to the same Mosaic Law which governs the
Jews and the Islamics, providing "commandments" and prescribing punishment for all public and private actions. These
laws, if literally enforced, would be as restrictive and brutal as those which we so abhor in other cultures in backward
areas of the world and are not a pleasant prospect for those of us accustomed to living in a modern free civilization.
For those with a complacent mindset, the first impulse would be to chortle at the thought of this occurrence, but it is
a time of great danger for democracy and for this nation. Even the advances that have already been made on the political
scene have created problems in the area of civil rights which will, under the best of circumstances, take some time to
correct. Small things, such as the incursion against our civil rights in the Patriot Act, the national debt from the
ill-thought tax cuts, and the loss of influence in the world, will take a long time to repair and the further it
progresses, the harder it will be to recover. In the meantime, the poor, the ill, the handicapped, and the old will be
sacrificed to Biblical neglect while the progress of two centuries will be discounted and destroyed.
The alternative would be to start now, by opening the eyes of the leaders of the Democratic Party to the fact that they
do not truly represent all those who are not Republicans. They must come out of their east- and west-coast habitats,
spend time with the people of the "red states" to learn of their specific concerns and to offer possible solutions.
Conceding this bloc of voters guarantees defeat for the "left". People who are not convinced of our concern for them
cannot be expected to support us. They demand answers and "more of the same" vs. "the unknown" is not a happy choice to
be asked to make. While the electoral votes reside in the cities and the more populous states, without a plausible plan
for the rural sections of the country, the Democratic Party is doomed to perpetual defeat, no matter the leanings of the
opposition.
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Mary Pitt is a septuagenarian Kansan who is self-employed and active in the political arena. Her concerns are her
four-generation family and the continuance of the United States as a democracy with a government "of the people, by the
people, and for the people". Comments and criticism may be addressed to mpitt@cox.net .