The prominence of the Tea Party as a fundamental faction of the Republican Party has it become more and more conservative in recent years. This is due to large scale polarisation of the two main political parties within the political arena. Debatbly, this has been demonstrated through their 2014 midterm win, where they recaptured the Senate from previous Democratic control. However, on more liberal and controversial issues, such as immigration, particularly the ‘Latino crisis’, gay marriage and debates on abortion, the party is unequivocally split. Many younger Republicans have arguably been less conservative and more pragmatic on controversial matters. However, the majority of the party remain true to conservatism in their views, producing an incredibly conservative Republican Party.
Regarding abortion, conservative ideology illustrates the idea of sanctity of life, demonstrating pure conservatism. Factions such as the Social Conservatives believe in the rights for the unborn child, suggesting traditional conservatism prevailing as a fundamental principle. In Texas, governor, Rick Perry signed a law preventing abortions in Texas, resulting in the closure of thirty three abortion clinics. Contrastingly, the interest group,Republicans for Choice believe in the accessibility of abortion. Susan Collins (Maine Senator) voted in favour of two bills regarding the $100 million investment in preventative procedures as well as the expansion of embryonic stem cell research. Whilst Republicans for Choice have new Senators including Shelly Moore Capito (West Virginia) and Susan Collins endorsing their cause, not every member of the Republican Party has such a pragmatic approach. One interest group fails to erase the fundamental principle of sanctity of life, of which the Republican Party is formed from.
The GOP want to tighten border security and enforce greater controls ensuring illegal immigrants do not receive the same benefits tax paying citizens receive. Opposition to large scale, unfiltered immigration illustrates the truly conservative stance of the Republican Party. John Boehner argues “...with the correct immigration reform, the economy will be able to flourish - but only with stricter border control” suggesting the Republicans cease to be opposed to immigration, but rather prefer to control the types of immigrants coming into the USA. This is evidenced by the opposition to the Dream Act by the majority of Republicans proving their disregard for economically inefficient people. Contrastingly, the bipartisan Gang of Eight bill illustrates the moves towards tolerating immigration - by allowing ‘Dreamers’ to remain in the USA. Again, the Gang of Eight comprised of 4 Republican Senators (Rubio, Flake, McCain and Graham) which like Republicans for Choice demonstrates only a minority of Republicans prepared to deviate from Conservative ideology. Due to the ‘Latino Crisis’ in 2012 which cost the Republican’s the election, the GOP have needed to demonstrate the need for a more liberal stance on immigration as constant opposition (particularly after Obama’s executive order) would defer the electorate away from the Republican Party; many of whom would be considered lost voters.
The conservative interpretation of the constitution is through strict constructionism, guaranteeing the right to bear arms (Amendment II) as ‘responsible citizenship, enabling Americans to defend their lives and communities’. The GOP took advantage of its new Senate majority to steer through a repeal of expanded background-check requirements on private and online sales of arms. Comparatively, the increase of moderate conservatism has proved popular as Senators including Susan Collins, John McCain and Mark Kirk voted to strengthen gun control, through a bill introduced by Congress without infringing on Second Amendment rights, argued Senator Collins in support of the measure. However, Susan Collins remains a moderate conservative, whereas other members of the Republican Party believe in strict constructionism, and the belief that gun ownership is key to a safe society.
The Republican Party strongly believe in limited government and a balancing the budget, illustrated through their cuts to expenditure and cuts in taxes. The GOP has proposed a balanced budget amendment to the constitution which would ensure government spending is controlled and correctly regulated, in light of the October 2013 government shutdown. This was the first since 1996, as a result of the House’s refusal to pass a spending bill, proposed by the Democrat Party, to fund the Affordable Care Act. The Republican Party has grown increasingly moderate. This is shown through the growing influence of moderates such as McCain and Boehner. Their influence is particularly evident in the GOP ‘U-turn’ in the 2013 shutdown where the more moderate Republicans condemned the Tea Party’s approach to opposing the bill as the party’s approval ratings dropped to 9% of the electorate. This therefore illustrated that there are widening divisions within the party, particularly over balancing the budget and increasing the debt ceiling. Nevertheless, regardless of the growing moderate influence within the party, it is apparent that the GOP is continuing to push for a balanced budget whilst slamming White House overspending. This therefore shows that they are still conservative in their beliefs.
The Republican Party have traditional beliefs that minority groups do not need preferential treatment through the means of Affirmative Action and that everyone must be open to equal opportunities. Fiscal conservatives even suggested that Affirmative Action could lead to distortion in the labour market. Whilst as Governor of Florida in 1999, Jeb Bush ended the use of affirmative action in state hiring & contracting and university admissions by executive order (the One Florida Plan) then issued statement saying it would “transcend the tired debate” about racial preferences. Further reiterated today as he and his spokespeople still support his move saying it helped more minorities into University. It could be considered that The Republican Party stance on Affirmative Action has changed since this period. They now see Affirmative Action as a great way to gain minority votes, somewhat following the Democrat liberal stance on the issue
Traditionally, the Republican Party have always been readily pro-war, to many degrees, rather than diplomacy as a tool to tackle foreign policy. Following the events of 9/11, the Republican ideology has increased in conservatism. Bush's "War on Terror" illustrated the strength of Republican foreign policy in a time of such uncertainty. His approach towards this situation saw him gain increased approval ratings. The recent Republican stance on war has changed in recent years, with regards to ISIS as they have not been conservative enough to curb ISIS power. However the signing of of the Iran letter by 47 Republicans to not go into a nuclear arms deal demonstrates how conservative the Republican Party really are.
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