Republican Party needs social conservatives more than social conservatives need the Republican Party

Republican Party needs social conservatives more than social conservatives need the Republican Party

It's true of any member of a coalition party. The coalition in order to be viable needs its constituent parts more than the constituent parts need it.

WIthout pro-life voters, the GOP numbers would shrink enormously.

Without the votes of people in Ohio in 2004 to defend traditional marriage, John Kerry might well have become President.

Without the fiscal conservatives, the Republican party loses its core base.

Without 'security Moms', the votes arent there for a GOP majority (as the trend from 2002 to 2008 shows).

Thus, while it's true for a part of the coalition to stand up and say "you need me", it's ALSO true that the coalition needs the other parts as well.

We cannot gain a majority by catering to one group in a way that kicks the other elements of the coalition to the curb.

With that common-sense in mind, consider the related polling on party and conservative affiliation.

http://travismonitor.blogspot.com/2009/05/conservative-majority-gop-mino...

Conflicting data points: 

• 60% of Americans consider themselves conservative (very or somewhat) (poll from last fall)
• Gallup poll - GOP Affiliation tied with Democrats (May poll)
• GOP Party Affiliation falls among wide swath of groups
• Americans want less Government spending:

In addition, 54 percent of voters think the Obama administration is proposing too much of an increase in government spending, while 6 percent say not enough. About a third -- 35 percent -- says the spending is "about right."A majority of Democrats (61 percent) think the president's proposed spending is about right, while majorities of Republicans (85 percent) and independents (61 percent) think there is too much of an increase.The flip side of government spending is budget cuts, and the poll finds 6 in 10 think President Obama is not cutting enough waste from government, including 84 percent of Republicans, 66 percent of independents and 38 percent of Democrats

 This shows - at least to me - that a generally "tax less, spend less, protect liberty, protect the country" GOP message will resonate.

The GOP is losing voters not for have too much in the way of principles but in having too little in the way of adherence to them.