The Future of the Republicans

From an old edition of The Economist, just before the last US election:

"Conservative America also needs to recover its vim. Somehow Ronald Reagan's party of western individualism and limited government has ended up not just increasing the size of the state but turning it into a tool of southern-friend moralism."

Couldn't agree more. And if the Republican party really wants to get back on its feet, then it needs to look for a genuine, reforming character within its ranks to energise both moderate and devoted Republicans. The likes of Palin and Huckabee simply won't cut it. They will appeal only to the loony Christian elements of the party, and those sort of candidates will alienate as many centrist voters as they will energise the Christian fundamentalists so well deployed by Karl Rove.

A genuine, reforming Republican leader is required - someone who wants to strip back the state, cut taxes, and instincively follow the limited government model followed by some Republicans. Rather than pandering to the limited outlooks of the Christian Right.

The Republicans tried Christian fundamentalism in the form of George W Bush. It broke the party, helped to destroy the candidacy of the far more moderate John McCain and did substantial damage to the country. The last thing they need to do is go further down the root of fundamentalism. The Republican future lies in pursuing a very different agenda.