In the world of politics, the very definition of it sometime precludes a few so called principles.
Unfortunately for some on this board, principles appear to include opinions!
While some real principles, such as a balanced budget, strong military, the lowest possible taxes and less government regulation are of utmost importance, the reality of politics requires that one or more of them be traded in part for the successful attainment of the others.
It is called the art of compromise.
The problem with some people is that they reject politics in favor of authoritarianism. This creates a conflict and that conflict cannot be mitigated within the party.
It will be more clear during the rest of Bush's second term that the RNC will move on without it's detractors and that the so called base will be reformatted to fit the reality of the political landscape.
I'm sure conservatives will be glad that you and their party values them about as much as a floppy disk.
If you don't start with principle, you can end up anywhere because you have no anchors or guides. What do you gain when you sacrifice principle for power? Who benefits from such an arrangement?
Who is advocating authoritarianism? Certainly not those of us who are pushing for a return to a small, unintrusive government. The larger government gets, the more authoritarian it becomes, so I guess that you mean yourself when you point that finger.
I am now left to wonder if you are delusional or just without principle.
I'll compromise. You're both.