On the right: Norm Ornstein: repub party has moved so far to the right a candidate with Reagan's

[pampango]

record could not get nominated.

The Republican Party over the past decade especially has moved sharply to the right, and the divisions are old battles of the right, not the earlier ones that pitted major figures like Nelson Rockefeller or William Scranton against Barry Goldwater or Ronald Reagan, or even involved pragmatic centrists like Richard Nixon (whose domestic program included a guaranteed annual income as welfare reform and a health care plan more liberal than the Obama one). If a candidate ran today on Ronald Reagan's record -- which included tax increases every year of his presidency after the first one, an expansion of Medicare and Medicaid, and other serious compromises on spending -- it is doubtful he could prevail in the new G.O.P.

...there are at least three G.O.P. and G.O.P.-leaning factions in the electorate, roughly equal in size: Staunch Conservatives, including many Tea Party types but also supporters of the core G.O.P. Wall Street establishment; Main Street Republicans, focused on a more populist and social conservatism; and Libertarians (many of who are Republican leaners).

If Ron Paul, representing nearly a third of the G.O.P. but rejected by the rest, feels disrespected, he could ultimately bolt and run as an independent (which is why Romney will probably treat him with kid gloves in coming weeks, even as Santorum and Gingrich treat him like a piñata). And if Romney prevails by going nuclear on Santorum as he did on Gingrich in Iowa, the nominee will have to allay movement conservatives' deep and intense distrust and resentment toward him. He would do this via the only route he has, by waging an even more intense negative campaign against Obama to kindle their enthusiasm.

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/01/04/for-gop-one-party-but-three-platforms/not-your-fathers-republican-party

This division of the repub party into 3 factions is similar to that of Juan Cole:

"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."

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

I think Cole is closer to the truth. While teabaggers tend to support Wall Street - which would tend to put them in the Romney camp - they also can be found in the religious absolutist libertarian camps as well. Or maybe teabaggers don't like Romney, but haven't figured out that by supporting Wall Street they are joining his faction, whether they say (or realize) they are or not.

[hifiguy]

1. There are three scorpions in the

Repuke bottle. First, the 1% and their supporters be they witting or unwitting. Their guy is Mittens. Second, the religiously insane, who support Frothy and third, the libertarian Randites, i.e., the Ron Paul camp. The 'baggers can be found in all three factions. Multiple scorpions in a bottle tend to all destroy each other. One can only hope.

One might add a fourth group, the diehard neocons, but I think that their brand was damaged too badly by Chimpy and Darth for them to have overmuch sway for a while.

[erpowers]

2. I Disagree

There are a number of Republicans and Democrats who make the claim that the Republican Party has moved so far to the right that even Ronald Reagan could not win the Republican nomination. Those people are wrong. Those people seem to focus on Ronald Reagan's actual record as governor of California or his actual record as president. What those people should focus on his how Reagan ran for president.

Ronald Reagan was a mix of Donald Trump (playing the race card), Mitt Romney and others (tax cuts for the wealthy), Ron Paul (government is the problem), and George w. Bush (spend more on the military).

Some seem to forget that Ronald Reagan promoted the myth that welfare recipients drove Cadillacs. Many realize this was a racially charged statement meant to get whites to vote for the Republican Party. Reagan was also a big supporter of supply-side economics, which promoted giving tax cuts to the wealthy. In addition, Reagan was just as opposed to government regulation as the current crop of Republicans. Finally, Reagan supported a big increase in military spending.

I guess one would argue, but he would not be able to defend his record running for reelection today. I would argue that even today with that record he is one of the most popular Republicans within the Republican Party.

[kemah]

3. The GOP has always followed the same philosophy.

The difference today is that they are more vocal about it and it is accepted as fact. In the past they could say one thing if front of one audience and then say something else. But we today's technology, you tube, cell phone video, and the blogs, people can see through their policies. In the past they believed their bs but were afraid to speak it aloud in public.