I know a lot of fundamentalists and members of the Christian right don't want to hear it, but there is a sizeable percentage of Republicans (such as me and my wife) who vote GOP primarily on economic and defense issues. We are uncomfortable with many of the social issues being pushed by the right wing of the party.
Would we vote Democrat? Probably not. However, we might decide to stay home on election day, and we would be less likely to give money at election time.
I understand completely. Personally, I'm on board with the Republicans/conservatives on the defense/military issues. I'd like to think that the Republicans would have been more responsible with the federal purse, but that has been shown to be a pipe dream. [line item veto, anyone??]. As for the social issues, a couple of the issues pursued by social-issue conservatives I agree with, but not to the extent they do. They are also not the highest priority with me.
The increasing self-identification of the party with the religious fundamentalists is rather troubling. And I agree that there's more of us than the religious right believes.
Would we vote Democrat? Probably not. However, we might decide to stay home on election day, and we would be less likely to give money at election time.
I think that one of these days, you're going to see a pro-military, pro-defense, moderate Democrat who will capture a lot of the disaffected voters. Thankfully, the Dems seem to be inclined to run someone like Dean, Hillary, or Kerry, instead.
I think the extreme social conservatives are a very vocal minority. While I respect their right to voice their opinions, letting them set the agenda will only push the party further towards Big Government conservatism.
The only difference between social conservatives and leftists is what they want the government to accomplish - they want to use the power of the state to enforce their own agenda, and all that does is increase the power of the state.
When they become the dominant force in the GOP, the GOP is done.