You know, there's two sad things about this.
First, there's plenty of room for both prolifers AND prochoice conservatives in the GOP. Certainly, ther is room to discuss the issue rationally and come to a consensus. The radicals, however, with their zero-tolerance position, force out those who might otherwise, except for those particular issues, be GOP-supporters. No one likes to be called a "baby killer" in polite conversation.
Second, those radicals are NOT really as conservative as they think. They feel true passion for only ONE ISSUE. They basically ignore all others, and play at scorched-Earth tactic to achieve it, as we have seen. Even when they get what they want (which requires INCREASED government involvement with private lives on most levels), they scream for MORE, and repeat their threats to stay home.
One must ask, where is all this passion, activism, and effort on, say, taxes? Social Security? The furshlugginer WAR, for the luvva Mike? Where's the calls for congress and the President to work weekends and allnighters to fix the budget, or to repair Eminent Domain laws? To repeal patently anti-Constitutional gun laws?
(sound of crickets chirping)
We simply cannot continue to have the entire GOP and conservative agenda shunted aside at the whim of an extreme fringe with more decibels than numbers. In this particular issue, it has probably damaged chances to get anything else done, and possibly the chance to continue the reforms begun after 2006/8.
Aw, now... there you go making sense and speaking Truth again!
LOL!
I was in the process of writing a post, but you just said it better than I could.
If anyone is interested in starting a Free Republic Sanity Caucus (by that or some less controversial name), I suggest we start a ping list, and would be happy to volunteer to do so. If you were pinged to this post, I copied your screen name from among the rational posts on this thread.