Regular Guy Paul on "The Breakup"

Regular Guy Paul has yet another outstanding post on the breakup of the conservative Reagan coalition:

... This is the sort of thing that's only noticed in presidential election years. In the column I've linked, Austin Hill seems to be blaming... well, I can't really tell. Outside of this remark, "...and as shameful and narrow minded as it is, many religious social conservatives (including the movement‘s “leaders” ) simply refuse to embrace a candidate whose theology isn’t 'correct,' even if his policy positions are," I don't see who Hill may be blaming for the breakup.

Well, as a pro-life Catholic, I'm quite used to voting for people whose theology is wrong. If I refused to do that, I'd have to write in Alan Keyes, Sam Brownback, and Rick Santorum for every office.

As a voter, what I'm looking for is someone who's reliably pro-life. And as a voter, I spent a few months last year being told from every direction that I should "get past" my issues, that a pro-abortion, pro-gay-"marriage" social liberal was the inevitable nominee of my party. The party was ready to throw us under the bus. Not exactly the best way to build party loyalty.

So when a pro-lifer who's not so good on economic or defense issues shows some strength, the fiscal and defense crowds start complaining about the break-up of the party. The irony. Guess what guys, it turns out that Party Unity Avenue isn't a one-way street after all!

I have no problem with supporting a small-government fiscal conservative. I have no trouble supporting a hawk with a strong foreign policy. So why do they expect me to vote for someone who's right on their issues but wrong on mine? Especially when, while it's reasonably debatable just how best foreign policy should be managed, or how best a war may be begun or prosecuted, or exactly what degree of government involvement in free markets is appropriate, it is not reasonably debatable whether human life begins at conception, or whether society is dependent on the stability of the traditional family unit...

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