Juan Cole: the 3 republican factions - wealthy 1%, religious absolutists, and libertarians.

[pampango]

The Republican Party is a coalition of numerous groups, but the big three as things now stand are the wealthy 1%, the religious absolutists, and the suburban and prairie libertarians. The Iowa caucasus split between candidates representing each of the three. Romney is the darling of Wall Street among the colorful Republican field. Rick Santorum has emerged as the voice of religious absolutists, mostly evangelical Protestants but including Ultramontane Catholics like himself. (He beat out Michelle Bachmann for this honor in part because religious absolutists are patriarchal and wouldn’t want to be led by a woman.) And Ron Paul is the standard bearer of the libertarians.

Libertarians suspect Romney of believing in big government. Evangelicals see Romney, a Mormon, as a cultist who believes that Satan is the brother of Jesus. Wall Street fears Ron Paul’s fundamentalist Libertarianism, his antagonism to the Federal Reserve and to TARP and other bailouts.

Now that Rick Santorum has announced that his foreign policy plan is to bomb Iran, the more level-headed elements in New York’s financial community are surely scared to death of him, as are the libertarians who are weary of perpetual war (which always benefits big government). Romney has refused to be stampeded into pledging a bombing campaign on Isfahan if he is elected. America’s 1% may decide that they want a war on Iran; but rich people like to keep their options open.

Romney is not the front runner because he is, from a Republican point of view, “just right.” Ideologically at least, he is what the Victorians would have called a “wet.” He just is not an uber-conservative. He is the front runner because he has a well-heeled, disciplined, national organization of a sort that Rick Santorum signally lacks. He is the front runner because Santorum’s religious absolutism frightens country club Republicans and his warmongering frightens Libertarians, and, well, just the sane in general. He is the front runner because Ron Paul wants to do things like get out of South Korea and slash foreign aid, leaving long-time US allies vulnerable and defenseless. The Republican Party is the party of big business, and big business has interests in the Pacific Rim that would be poorly served by isolationism.

http://www.juancole.com/2012/01/three-republican-bears-and-none-just-right.html

[comipinko]

1. THAT is your AXIS of EVIL.

[Warpy]

2. That's the Reagan coalition, right there

and I'm thrilled to say it's getting very frayed and testy and shows every sign of a spectacular breakdown.

The party survived Nixon's courting of bigots in the deep south and midwest. I don't think it will survive either the religious freaks or libertarians for much longer. The problem with making deals with multiple devils is that those devils all want to take over and will fight each other to do so.

Oh, I think Mitt will be the candidate, probably with some religious loony around his neck like a rotting albatross. In 2016, their ability to field a national candidate at all might be in jeopardy as there is no other heir apparent besides Jebbie. And I don't think the country will be ready for another Bush after a scant 8 years.

We are indeed living in interesting times.

[MisterP]

3. agh! forgot the hard-anticommunist neocon warriors--there are 4 legs to this stool (and it's a STOOL

[hifiguy]

4. Three scorpions in a bottle,

two of them high on psychedelics (religulous loons and libertarians) the other addicted to money. There is no way to see them coexisting. Happy day!