However, the increasing frequency of this question’s proposition has produced a minor backlash from people who would otherwise sympathize with Republican values. These people do not condone the signs carried by Tea Party protesters, often dislike Sarah Palin, and stand aghast at the intimidation being used against Democratic politicians. More than these things however, these Lost Conservatives do not appreciate (and often take offense at) the smug boastings of Democratic—or more specifically, Obama—supporters who are certain of their righteousness in the face of GOP absurdity.
The Republican Party would like everyone to believe it is not related to the Tea Party movement, but this proposition continues to confuse outside observers. The GOP seems to be making no attempts to differentiate itself, and to many people, the relationship seems too much like the hands of a puppeteer: one is drawing your attention with a suit and tie while the other engages in vandalism and political bullying. They may be playing different characters, but they're putting on the same show.
This is where the Lost Conservatives become very important. They see the Republican Party in disarray, the lunatic fringe getting highlighted because sanity doesn't sell. Lost Conservatives do not believe the Tea Party fits the image of the Republican Party, and that the upstart movement, as unseemly as it may be, does not justify a complete dismissal of the Republican Party’s dignity and integrity. They give Republican lawmakers slack because they understand that it is difficult for politicians to break the group-think that plagues our two-party system and criticize allies, especially in the face of losing votes for fear of not being conservative enough. For Lost Conservatives, "the heart of the party" is still with Reagan and the glory days of American conservatism, and Republicans will, by default, right their ways once this storm has passed. It irks them to see the Republican Party painted with such a broad brush because they used to support it and would like to support it again.
What, then, should the public be paying attention to when searching for the identity of the Republican Party? The outlandishness of the GOP cannot, by itself, be enough reason to look elsewhere since, by definition, a party’s identity can only be determined by… well, the party. To understand the GOP, the public must begin to separate conservatism from the Republican Party—we must differentiate between parties and philosophies. The basic tenets of classic American conservatism—low taxes, minimal government bureaucracy, financial stability, etc.—either do not exist as part of the current Republican Party's philosophy, or are cynically used as tools for securing reelection.
It is important to acknowledge that there are many groups with vastly different objectives in most political parties; neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are always unified bodies. The whole point of having a political party is that people can represent their interests in larger numbers, thus earning individuals more bargaining power and consideration. But in an effort to salvage the image of the Republican Party, Republicans (and, to a lesser extent, Lost Conservatives) would like us to ignore the basic purpose of a political party simply because blatantly radical elements are now the primary motivators of GOP policy creation and activism.
I've said this before, and it remains true: it is up to the people who feel they have been affronted—the Lost Conservatives—to stand up and make clear who we should be listening to when we inform ourselves about Republican identity. It cannot possibly be that difficult. We live in an age where media outlets broadcast Tweets and Facebook updates as news; how hard can it really be for moderates to step up, if only momentarily, to say, "We wholly reject the paradigm of the current Republican Party, and you should not think of us this way?"
This well-intentioned quest does not bode well for our representative democracy. By forsaking their own interests while they wait for the Republican Party to welcome them back, Lost Conservatives release themselves of the burdens of their principles at a time when it would do them the most good to push these ideals as hard as possible. This behavior is irrational and hinders the recovery of the GOP. No one benefits when moderates sit back and sigh, "This too shall pass." Democracies thrive on internal conflicts driven by the self interests of various groups, and if people are willing to surrender that, I find it difficult to sympathize with them.
Democrats gain nothing from providing a home to the Lost Conservatives. Their core goals and philosophies are too different to result in a stable party. For the Lost Conservatives to regain their voice, they must retake the Republican Party. Until that happens, the stagnation of the GOP will continue, and the Lost Conservatives will be left to hold their nose and watch the Democrats fumble their way towards liberal policies that the Lost Conservatives could shape and improve if they had a larger voice.
