From Rick Santorum to Ron Paul and a new Fusionism

An interesting read looking at both the social conservative and libertarian strains of the GOP base by Rosie Gray.

Tony Perkins concedes that the Values Voter Summit was a little smaller than usual in 2012.

“We have 2,500 registered,” the Family Research Council chief told reporters at the annual gathering of conservatives, outside a “Values Bus” parked on the property of the Omni Shoreham hotel.

“It’s a little less than last year because the Ron Paul buses didn’t roll in this morning,” Perkins joked. “We were waiting for them but they didn’t show up.”

You may also want to read up some on fusionism if unfamiliar with it. It isn’t a new problem, so much as it is a changed problem; however, it’s always going to require some form of fusionist effort to cobble together a majority on the right.

The philosophy of “fusionism” was developed at National Review magazine during the 1950’s under the editorship of William F. Buckley, Jr. and is most identified with his associate editor Frank Meyer. As Buckley recounted the founding he “brokered” between “an extraordinary mix” of libertarians, traditional conservatives, anti-communists and even an anarchist to produce the ideas and writings that produced modern conservatism.[3] He identified Meyer’s synthesis as the most likely best solution of defining conservatism.[4]