Where Will They Go from Here?

An interesting observation was brought up by one of my professors today in class in regards to the future of the Republican party. It appears that the Bush administration has sold the conservative Christians out, being that his choice to replace Justice O'Connor with an inexperienced moderate is a slap in the face of the great movement to restore "traditional values" to the U.S. via government intervention (the lack of experience should not have been a shocker...Bush had a horse judge as the head of FEMA--this administration's appointees make me feel less self-conscious about what is on my resume now, but at least this one is somewhat connected to the post). Here is my take on the situation: first of all, the Republicans' decision to join forces with big business and conservative Christians was the equivalent of letting a herd of elephants walk over a glass bridge. Has there ever been a case historically where big business and religion have resided harmoniously? The byproducts of big business fly in the face of the very essence of religion. I know that many stand by the notion that this country was founded on religion, but, hey--let's face it: when industrialization was born the U.S. (along with the other Great Powers) chose modernization over morality and tradition. And if it were possible for the two entities to exist together ad infinitum, then it would stand to reason that states such as Iran would not be grappling with the notion of how to modernize and still stay true to the traditional aspects of the Islamic faith. The point I am making with the aforementioned comments is that trying cater to big business and conservative Christians was a real and potent future disaster. I compare that setup as being as sensible as the pre-Katrina decision to ignore upgrading the levees of New Orleans. With all that in mind, it appears that a severe rift in the Grand Old Party is inevitable, and the current administration has established a preference for big business...so where will the CC go now? Will the party split and we see the rise of another independent party sponsored by the CC? I also cannot help but wonder how this will affect the more extreme ends of the conservative movement. Current events seem to encourage the notion that the disappointments faced by the CC in trying to improve society through politics may re-energize the movements of less desirable groups such as those who have not come to terms with the notion that killing people in order to promote the Pro-Life movement is one of the greatest contradictions of all time. I am not predicting that Pat Robertson will start issuing ultimatums from a cave, but hey, he has already given his seal of approval on assassinating Heads of State that rub him the wrong way, so apparently anything goes.