A close Bush advisor makes a point that has been simmering somewhere in the back of my mind for the past few days.
In order to win this election, Bush sold his soul to the religious right, and by proxy, he may have sold the soul (yeah, right) of the Republican Party as well. The religious right and the GOP are now concentric entities, and that could have an effect on the party for years to come.
Once Bush's run is up, where does the party go? The RR obviously feels the power of control it has over the GOP, and it won't hesitate to flex it. So when the next election rolls around, will the RR be satisfied with a moderate -- many of the favorites, like Guliani, Pataki and McCain, appear to be "moderates" by Repub standards -- or will it demand another overt evangelical like Bush?
If the RR prevails, then it would probably be at the cost of the mainstream favorites like Guliani, etc., and who knows, they might manage to nominate someone in the image of Alan Keyes. Although it's not clear that there's any limit to just how radical a candidate has to be before a majority of the nation rejects them, the RR might force the GOP to reluctantly explore those limits.
If the GOP nominates, say, a Northeastern Republican, would the coalition of the evangelicals stay on board, or would they lose interest if they feel the candidate is not so much "one of them?" Such fervor is hard to keep focused for an extended period of time.
Even a protracted primary battle between the moderate Repubs and the RR Repubs could do damage to the party. Pat Robertson, where are you?
It's sad that in many ways the Democratic Party's best hope is that the Republican Party will screw up or over-play its hand. However, we can at least hope this narrows the gap between the parties and gives the Dems a smaller gulf to bridge.
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