A few days ago, I wrote a post "Whither The Republican Party." Well here is an article from the conservative magazine, National Review, asking the same question. It's worth a read as it reveals what the intellectual conservatives that have been driven from the party are thinking. They are pessimistic about their party's ability to respond effectively to the last two elections.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
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All losing political parties have trouble absorbing the primary lesson that their defeat was a result of their own unpopularity. It has to be "the electoral environment" or "rhetorical gifts" or some other outside reason. This learning is all the more difficult for Republicans because they believe their Bush and their party are favored by God.
I think you are right. Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish has been drawing analogies between 2006/08 for the Republicans and the Labour inability to respond effectively to Thatcher and the Tories' inability to do so following their defeat by Blair.
I also think you are right that the religious origins of Republican party doctrine/ideology make it especially difficult for their current leadership to make the necessary adjustments.
When you think your ideology is derived from the revealed word of God, compromise with opponents or accommodation of changing political realities is anathema. This is why religious bases for political competition are so dangerous for democracies.
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