Faction's Of the GOP

Religious Right

The term "religious right" is often used synonymously with Christian right because most of its members are fundamentalist Protestants. Some observers consider Mormons, traditionalist Catholics and Orthodox Jews to belong to this category. The Religious Right has become a powerful force within the GOP. This faction is socially conservative, believes that values of faith are vital to society, and should not be separated from governance or education. Though what constitutes moral values is a matter of dispute between different (sometimes even similar) religions and religious denominations, the Religious Right has consisted of social and cultural conservatives united in discouraging and legally restricting abortion, legally defining marriage to include only heterosexual couples, discouraging and prohibiting embryonic stem-cell research, and encouraging and promoting school prayer. The Religious Right rejects the liberal notion that there should be a "wall of separation" between religion and government. In recent years portions of the Religious Right have been active in attacking Darwinism in the public school curriculum.

Neoconservatives

Neoconservatives promote an interventionist foreign policy, including pre-emptive military action against designated enemy nations under certain circumstances. They are the strongest suppoirters of the war in Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein. They are willing to act unilaterally when they believe it serves American interests to do so.

Fiscal Conservatives

The fiscal conservative faction favors large reductions in overall taxation, reduced domestic spending, privatization of Social Security, and decreased regulation. Originally, the pro-business branch of the GOP was practically defined by its support of protectionism, but in recent years those elements of the GOP have been more supportive of free-market principles and treaties for open trade.

Moderates

Moderates within the GOP tend to be, to varying degrees, fiscally conservative and socially liberal. While they share the economic views of other Republicans - e.g. balanced budgets, lower taxes, free trade, deregulation, welfare reform - moderate Republicans differ in that they may be for affirmative action, some gay rights, abortion rights, environmental regulation, federal funds for education, gun control, fewer restrictions on legal immigration, or any of the above. Deficit spending is a highly contentious issue, as is foreign policy. Moderates may be less interventionist than neoconservatives.

Libertarians

The libertarian faction of the Republican Party is pro-private property and pro-personal liberty. Similar to the fiscal conservative faction, libertarian Republicans seek to privatize most govermental fuctions or devolve them to the states; massive reductions in overall federal taxation, and an overhaul of the current American tax system; deregulation of industries; more open immigration policies; and open international trade. Unlike many conservative Republicans, however, the libertarian Republicans tend to oppose the "War on Drugs", American membership in most international alliances, and the type of foreign policy that neoconservatives are known to espouse. During the 2004 Republican National Convention, this faction "butted heads" with the Religious Right faction over the party platform.

Paleoconservatives

The paleoconservative group has a "blue-collar", populist tinge with a strong distrust of a centralized federal government, and has heavy appeal among rural Republicans. They are conservative on social issues (e.g. support for gun rights) and oppose multiculturalism, but favor a protectionist policy on international trade and isolationist foreign policy. Many are also active against illegal immigration, or even all immigration.

Security Oriented

This faction of the Republican party emerged after the September 11th attacks. This group includes people regardless of social or economic status who are profoundly concerned with the safety and security of our country. Bush did an excellent job of appealing to this faction with its "war on terror" and the war in Iraq, but he has lost support among the security oriented on the issue of controlling the Mexican border against Illegal immigration.