"Small Government" Conservatives Are Back

My latest at the Partial Observer. Excerpt:

It appears that under Bush, the conservative movement has been hijacked by neoconservative ideologues and certain segments of the Christian Right. But does this "Big Government Conservatism" square with the beliefs of actual Republican voters?

A recent study by Fabrizio, McLaughlin, and Associates suggests otherwise. Based on a survey of 2000 Republican voters, seven different segments were identified as composing the Republican Party. These segments were different from each other largely in emphasis: some focused on economic issues, others on moral and social issues, others still on foreign policy, and still others were mixed. Yet through all of these segments, there was strong agreement: the federal government is too big, the budget deficit is too large, and taxes are too high. Significantly, less than 20% of Republicans believe that family, moral, and abortion issues should define the party.