it was when we began to emphasize social issues to the detriment of some of our basic tenets as a party that we encountered an electoral backlash.

First, let me start off by saying that I am no longer a Republican (which allows me to vote in Democratic primaries here in California, which for the time being are the “general election” statewide) and I’m socially libertarian (not merely liberal) and on economics/fiscal issues I am conservative/libertarian. I disagree with conservatives on abortion, gay marriage & on other such issues, but this concept that these issues are being “emphasized” strikes me as odd. The GOP has not lurched to the right; 25 years ago, “Gay civil unions” was a very radical idea that only hard core leftists would’ve supproted. Today all but a small portion of hardcore homophobes would vigorously oppose it. (Gay marriage is a different issue altogether). Abortion? 25 years ago the GOP was pushing for a total ban on abortion, a “Life Amendment”; today the GOP struggles to get causing the death of a fetus that wasn’t abortion related called “murder”, and pushes so called “partial birth abortion” bans.

In looking at Specter, he wasn’t shoved out by religious conservatives; the Club for Growth is about taxes and fiscal conservatism… something that most republicans can at least try to agree upon and differentiate themselves from democrats… and yet this is always the first thing thrown under the bus. Specter wasn’t shoved out of the GOP because of his stance on abortion.