With President Bush’s nomination of Harriet Miers not being greeted with particular enthusiasm from the right wing, is it possible that the Republican Party could lose the support of religious conservatives?
By now no doubt you’ve read Joe’s great coverage of the response from people of all political stripes and have noticed that there are a lot of folks on the right half of the spectrum who are simply unhappy with the selection. Perhaps coincidentally, and perhaps not, today the ultimate symbol of angry conservatism, former Judge Roy Moore — of 10 commandments fame — announced that he would run for governor in Alabama. Phillip Rawls has the story for the Associated Press.
Roy Moore, who became a hero to the Christian right after being ousted as Alabama’s chief justice for refusing to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the courthouse, announced Monday that he is running for governor in 2006.
Moore’s candidacy could set up a showdown with Gov. Bob Riley, a fellow Republican, and turn the Ten Commandments dispute into a central campaign issue in this Bible Belt state.
President Bush’s nominations of John G. Roberts and Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court have done little to inspire the social conservative base of the GOP that they have strong clout within the administration. And given the fact that many of these activists believe, rightly or wrongly, that they are the reason why Bush won a second term last fall, these picks are clearly being viewed by some as betrayal.
If the religious conservative base of the Republican Party begins turning to Roy Moore and his ilk — whether inside or outside of the party — 2006 could signal the beginning of an entirely new era in American politics. If Moore succeeds in garnering the GOP nomination, the Republican Party could become substantially more socially conservative; if he fails and decides to bolt his party — a la George Wallace (another culturally conservative Alabaman) — the damage to the GOP could take decades to repair.
Next year truly could go down in history along with 1968, 1932, 1896, 1860, 1832 and 1800 as the elections that fundamentally changed the balance of power within the country and the direction of its politics. And if that doesn’t lead you to want to throw your hat in the ring and get involved, I’m not sure what will.
[Update 2:20 PM Pacific]: An anonymous reader over at my blog posts the following analysis, which looks at the flipside of the coin.
Roy Moore and his little buddy Tom Parker (currently an Associate Justice on the SC) could win the Republican nominations, especially with Alabama’s Gay Marriage Amendment on the June 6 ballot. Chief Justice will be highlighted if Moore wins the nomination.
If Moore and Parker win their primaries, this could be a major bellweather. Will traditional pro-business Republicans split off from the radical right?
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