After a year of Tea Party rage over taxpayer money, Republicans are struggling to keep social conservatives in the tent with Mike Huckabee as the poster boy for the effort while those still in office try to focus on deficits and government spending.

Huckabee, recently laid off by Fox News, revisits his ministerial roots by chastizing pregnant Natalie Portman for flaunting her unmarried status at the Oscars to “glorify and glamorize the idea of out-of-wedlock children.” After an uproar, the ex-Governor backs off with a blessing that he is “glad she will marry her baby’s father.” Ms. Portman must be relieved.

There are other signs of GOP strain over focusing on money vs. morals as John Boehner’s bunch chooses to laud the Defense of Marriage Act with a written Friday afternoon news dump instead of posturing with House speeches about the sanctity of traditional families.

In doing so, they are taking the advice of dark horse Presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who has advised them to back off cultural wars and “agree to get along for a little while” on social issues while warring on the money front.

But in the era of Fox News, that won’t be easy to do. As Rupert Murdoch turns 80 next week, we are reminded that he built his empire on tabloid sleaze before turning to right-wing politics.

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