That's a very long story, and one I don't have time to go into in any detail. The division is only partly ideological. A lot of it is personal, and much of that traces back to a major incident in the 1986 Republican primary to select a U.S. Senate candidate. Congresswoman Bobbi Fiedler was one of many Republicans seeking the nomination, as was State Senator (and former Los Angeles Police Chief) Ed Davis. At one point Fiedler and Davis met to discuss Davis' possible withdrawal from the race. Davis claimed that Fiedler attempted to bribe him to withdraw and endorse her in exchange for her assistance in raising money to pay off his campaign debts. Davis had himself wired for the meeting, and Fiedler and her campaign manager (later husband) were consequently indicted for violating California election laws. The recording was ambiguous, and Fiedler and her manager were eventually acquitted. But it destroyed both her Senate campaign and Davis' Senate campaign, and left an enormous amount of bad blood. Other Republicans lined up behind one side or the other and took on that bad blood.