Tuesday, October 25, 2005

The Conservative Divide

I am more and more convinced that the division we are seeing in the Republican party is one between faith based conservatives whose conservatism is guided by their faith, and conservatives whose conservatism is based on philosophy. This Hugh Hewitt post has firmed up my position on this.

I don't really like making this generalization, because their are so many whose conservatism is affected by both faith and philosophy, and those individuals can be found on both sides of this fence. But in general, those who I'd define as faith-based conservatives, Miers opposition to abortion and evangelical faith are enough justification for her nomination. On the philosophical side, opponents seem to be saying, "that isn't enough, Miers needs to be a reliable constructionist in a host of topics."

Unfortunately, quality communication between the two sides has really broken down over this nomination, and while the divide will heal, I'm not sure it will be in the near future.

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