Big Tent

There is a surprising truth in American politics today -- a truth that few talk about, and that those on both the left and the right wish to deny.  The truth is that, over the last few decades, the Republican Party has quietly become the "big tent" party, the party of diversity of viewpoints -- especially when it comes to "social issues".

This truth is denied by both sides.  Those on the far right of the Republican Party want the world to believe that the rest of the party agrees with them, and find comfort in telling themselves that they speak for the majority of Republicans.  Those on the left want the world to believe that the Republican Party is made up of extremists, while the Democrat Party is more moderate and reasonable.

I am referring mostly to divisive controversial issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage, and gun control, though the diversity extends to things like war and environmental issues.  The extremists would have you believe that all Republicans oppose abortion and same-sex marriage and gun control, favor war as opposed to peace, and give no regard to protecting the environment.  Though it is hard to gather honest, accurate statistics about the personal beliefs of millions of Americans, there are large numbers of Republicans on both sides of all of these issues -- while it is much harder to find large groups of Democrats on both sides of these issues.

I hasten to acknowledge that it is currently difficult for a vehemently pro-choice, pro-same sex marriage, pro gun control candidate to win the Republican nomination for President.  This simply reflects the fact that the extremists exercise inordinate control over both major parties, and probably over all political parties.  One of the weaknesses of the American system of government is that a well-organized and/or well-funded minority can easily wield disproportionate power.

To those who would disagree with me, I offer this true example:  A few months ago, I attended my "neighborhood caucus".  Theoretically, all power within the political party proceeds upward from the caucus level.  Among the tasks of the caucus was to elect delegates to the county convention, and also name members of the local "central committee".  In both cases, we were unable to fill the available slots.  That is, we were supposed to hold an election to narrow down our slate of delegates to eleven, but only nine would agree to serve.  We were supposed to elect six people to serve on the "central committee", but only five would agree to serve.  This means that any extremists who wished to have THEIR views heard could proceed unopposed to the county convention and central committee -- and technically represent the hundreds or thousands of eligible voters in my "neighborhood".  That is truly how the system works.  At the most basic, local level, power comes not from "the majority" but from those who desire power.  At the present time, most of the members of my local "Republican Central Committee" are probably anti-abortion, anti-same sex marriage, and anti-gun control.  This offers NO indication of the beliefs of local Republicans on these issues, despite the fact that extremists on both sides would like to believe that it does.

To a certain extent, this same process may extend to the Democrat Party, which is probably also dominated by those who agree to serve.  However, there are specific, organized Republican groups on both sides of these issues.  That is, there are specific organizations of Republicans who are pro-choice, and Republicans who are pro-same-sex marriage (though offhand I am unaware of any large Republican "pro-gun control" group).  I do not believe there are large, organized "Democrats against abortion" or "Democrats against same-sex-marriage" groups.  The Democrat Party has simply become less diverse than the Republican Party, and less tolerant of diversity.

As I stated at the outset, this truth is denied by both sides.  I consider this deeply dishonest, and deeply troubling.

Truth is complicated.