Conservative Party Shuns Compassion in Favor of Harsh Approach
In a speech delivered in New York, John Kasich, the former Governor of Ohio, criticized the current state of the Republican Party, highlighting the deep divisions within the party that have become increasingly apparent in recent years.
Kasich's speech, titled "Stronger Together," may be used in Hillary Clinton's campaign, as it reprised the same agenda conservatives offered in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The former Governor urged national unity and the strength found in each other, a relief from the horror movie motifs and exclusionary rhetoric that have dominated the Republican contest.
Kasich proposed a balanced budget, a freeze on most federal regulations, tax cuts, sending welfare, education, Medicaid, infrastructure, and job training programs back to the states, a guest worker program, and fixes to Social Security that would involve some cuts. However, his proposals were met with skepticism from some factions within the Republican Party.
The Republican Party is currently divided into at least five irreconcilable factions: social conservatives, libertarian Republicans, neoconservatives, business-oriented Republicans, and those who take a hard line on immigration, race, national identity, and free trade. These factions are deeply split over issues such as abortion, LGBT rights, immigration, foreign policy, and the role of government programs.
The traditional conservatives, who focus on free-market policies, social conservatism, and a hawkish foreign policy aligned with neoconservative ideas, are at odds with the right-wing populists and national conservatives, who emphasize protectionism, cultural conservatism, skepticism of neoconservatism, and often embrace conspiracist subcultures with disdain for traditional checks and balances.
Kasich criticized proposals for a religious test for immigration, targeting neighborhoods for surveillance, and promises of unpopular laws being repealed through a strong man in the White House, which are more aligned with the right-wing populists' approach. Many in the GOP, particularly working-class Trump supporters, see this approach as more representative of their concerns, while the business-oriented Republicans, for whom Kasich and Ryan speak, make low taxes and less regulation their highest priority.
Kasich implied he had a certain real estate developer in mind when he said some people exploit fears and anger for fame or attention. Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House, declared he does not want to be the Republicans' presidential savior, choosing to stick to his current job, as he believes the GOP needs to regroup intellectually.
The old pro-business, pro-tax-cut conservatism is facing trouble, with the policy retreads having little to say about the challenges facing the country in the current era. Holding all these groups together amiably is now beyond the capacity of even the most gifted GOP politicians. As the Republican Party continues to grapple with its internal divisions, it remains to be seen how these factions will reconcile their differences and move forward.
[1] E.J. Dionne Jr., "The Irreconcilable Factions Within the Republican Party," The Washington Post, 2016. [1] "Internal Divisions in the Republican Party," Wikipedia, 2021.
- John Kasich's speech, "Stronger Together," advocating for a balanced budget, tax cuts, and a guest worker program, among other policies, could be seen as a political strategy rooted in traditional conservative ideologies, as it echoes the agendas of Republican conservatives from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
- The current state of the Republican Party is marked by intense policy-and-legislation disagreements among at least five irreconcilable factions: social conservatives, libertarian Republicans, neoconservatives, business-oriented Republicans, and those who take a firm stance on immigration, race, national identity, and free trade. These divisions, highly publicized in recent general news, have made it challenging for political leaders, like John Kasich, to reconcile these differences and move the party forward.
