Has the Bush Cheney “debt does not matter” leadership style ended hope for the GOP in 08?

Deficit Hawks Defect
As Social Issues Prevail;
‘The Party Left Me’

By JACKIE CALMES
October 2, 2007; Page A1

WallStreetJournal — The Republican Party, known since the late 19th century as the party of business, is losing its lock on that title.

New evidence suggests a potentially historic shift in the Republican Party’s identity — what strategists call its “brand.” The votes of many disgruntled fiscal conservatives and other lapsed Republicans are now up for grabs, which could alter U.S. politics in the 2008 elections and beyond.

Some business leaders are drifting away from the party because of the war in Iraq, the growing federal debt and a conservative social agenda they don’t share. In manufacturing sectors such as the auto industry, some Republicans want direct government help with soaring health-care costs, which Republicans in Washington have been reluctant to provide. And some business people want more government action on global warming, arguing that a bolder plan is not only inevitable, but could spur new industries.

Already, economic conservatives who favor balanced federal budgets have become a much smaller part of the party’s base. That’s partly because other groups, especially social conservatives, have grown more dominant. But it’s also the result of defections by other fiscal conservatives angered by the growth of government spending during the six years that Republicans controlled both the White House and Congress.

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Posted by JohnKonop on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007 at 4:10 am | under Uncategorized | |RSS 2.0 feed | Comments and pings closed. |