no, conservatism is based on a simple set of principles, not a wide variety of policies. There are no branches of conservatism, only branches of people who ACT conservative on some issues and liberal on others.
There are indeed factions, and if you don't believe that, then you will be totally clueless and in absolute wonderment after the election. If we lose, and we may, the finger pointing will begin in earnest, and it will not be pretty.
When it is over, you will indeed know. Perhaps for the first time, you will see the factions clearly.
Since you have said nothing of substance yet, I cannot tell what faction you hail from, but I'll take a guess that you may be a social conservative but I don't know or care. They seem to be the most oblivious of the other factions and have essentially pissed them all off. If we lose the election, the socials had better find a new home, because the party will go to every length and use every means to eliminate what it is going to see as a problem. The country clubber rebubs (not so conservative) have been trying to rid the party of social conservatives for many years. If we lose, or if Huckabee causes any more problems, the other two factions of the Conservative right will join the country clubbers in a fight that will not end until the party looks like they want it to be.
This fight has been suppressed, mostly by Reagan when he managed to get them all together, but in recent years, and the lack of a leader who can get everyones respect, the animosity has once again broken through. This time it will go the distance, I guarantee.
If you are not a social conservative, then you must be a Rush baby. Rush strings together a mixture of fiscal, security hawk and social conservatism and he does this to appeal to all three factions. If he did not, one third or two thirds of his audience would be PO'd after every show.
There are not all that many conservatives who are 100% in sync with all three legs of the conservative philosophy. Most of them have pedigrees that look like 60/10/30 or any variant that you can think of, and these ratios change over time and conditions.
Also, don't get the idea that conservatives are in charge of the Republican Party. They are not. They make up a decent sized portion of the party, but they don't control. Nobody controls, or should. The policies come from consensus within the ranks. That is how policy is made. If it were not for that concensus, it would be a dictate, not policy. The policy will fail if it does not have a majority support, or THAT IS THE WAY IT IS SUPPOSED TO WORK.
In recent years, the socials tried to overwhelm the party and take control as they think they are the only conservatives. This attempt culminated in the losses of 2006 and it's still going on. This is why the results of a loss in 2008 will certainly result in total warfare within the Republican family, and when this occurs, you will see the factions for sure. In fact, Rush spoke about this today. He understands it, because he communicates with all the factions. He knows what will happen and you will as well. so will Peggy Noonan and the blame Bush during brunch bunch. She hails from the fiscal faction.
As for myself, I'm a mutt. I'm 50/40/10 with social concerns on the small burner but I'll back a bill if I think it's good for the country. I'm not a hundred percenter. I don't think anyone should be. It limits them to so few issues that they are nearly useless as a party member, and always disappointed.
100%'ers cannot effectively function in a broad based political party, and are nothing but trouble over time. They should just become activists for their causes and register independent, because that is what they are.
Conservatism is not a cause or issue. It is a philosophy, and there are others who do not have the same order of priorities within that philosophy although they share the same beliefs. The rational view to take is that all of these people with their different ratios are all conservatives. They simply do not think alike at the same time on the same issue. But you cannot call them anything but a conservative, and if you do, there will be a cost. A cost to the Conservative movement, and a secondary cost to the republican party that welcomed them to the fold.
There is a tertiary cost to the United States of America.