Well, duh

"Moderate Republican" is now an oxymoron. It has been since, I'd say, March of 2000 when Bush narrowly defeated McCain by running to the right - visiting Bob Jones U., push polling, etc. I used to be a moderate Republican. Now I'm a moderate Democrat. That's because my political leanings are in the middle - agreeing with various Republican and Democratic positions. In October 2003, I left the Republican party and registered as a Democrat. Well, lots of moderate Republicans are coming to the realization that they're no longer welcome in the Christian Republican Party of George W. Bush, et al.

"There is no future for moderate and progressive Republicans in the Republican Party," said Jim Scarantino, president of the centrist GOP group Mainstream 2004. "The far right wing and the fanatics have seized control." Mr. Scarantino isn't sure where his brand of Republican politics fits into the GOP. Some Christian conservatives say it doesn't. "If they can't agree and support the president and the platform, then they ought to go over to the Democrats," said Jan LaRue, chief counsel for the conservative group Concerned Women for America. After President Bush's re-election, evangelicals were quickly branded the "it" political group. They have taken a two-week victory lap, appearing around the clock on cable news networks while touting a conservative social agenda. Out of the spotlight and largely overlooked, some moderates said they feel like politicians without a party. Issues such as gay marriage and abortion have exposed fissures in the majority party, as conservatives push for what they call "pro-family" policies and moderates urge renewed focus on fiscal conservatism. Evangelicals have been quick to seize on their moment in the spotlight, launching efforts to expand their influence and criticizing Republicans who don't toe the conservative line on social issues. The Rev. Jerry Falwell announced plans last week for an "evangelical revolution," forming the Faith and Values Coalition, which he described as a resurrection of the Moral Majority. And conservatives accused Sen. Arlen Specter of disloyalty when the Pennsylvania Republican suggested that the Senate might reject anti-abortion judicial nominees. Evangelical groups urged Mr. Specter's colleagues to reject his bid to become chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

To the Republican party of 2004, moderate Republicans are good for only one thing: window dressing. People like Giuliani and Schwarzenegger are trotted out at the convention every four years to appeal to centrists - to show that the GOP really isn't the party of evangelical bigotry it's become. Every four years, the Delays and Brownbacks get shunted to fringe events, while the moderates get play & lip service to the GOP's "big tent" is paid. Then, when the convention's over, the evil wingers come out to play, and the moderates are again marginalized, only to make headlines when, every so often, they defy the wingers. What a sad mockery of its former self the GOP has become. What's even scarier is that evangelical bigotry is winning elections.