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The world is taking a right turn.
Even when parties clash over politics, their shared values can yield practical results through compromise. But now, conservatives are increasingly rejecting compromise, putting shared values at risk.
Liberal democracy can go backwards. It emerged from the adoption of social welfare policies and the defeat of fascism by American and European democracies. Once widely accepted, it is now openly challenged.
listen to Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister idolized by some American conservatives. His country has lived under a monarchy, Nazism and communism, and now he proclaims: “We have replaced a shipwrecked liberal democracy.” He calls his new form of government “illiberal democracy”, which is equivalent to an elected dictatorship without the need for compromise.
Orban’s views are extreme, but many conservatives favor a smaller, more authoritarian government, lower taxes and fewer foreign commitments. They believe that only by being uncompromising, contrary to the practices of liberal democracy, can they achieve control.
Even in Maine, that way of thinking is showing up.
Unless two-thirds of the legislature agree to state budget, a version adopted by a simple majority and signed by the governor must be delayed 90 days. That’s what happened earlier this year with the basic budget pushed by Democrats. But hopes remained that a supermajority would adopt the supplementary budget.
Minority Republicans and majority Democrats had conflicting legislative goals. They reached a compromise with some GOP gains, but unsurprisingly, the majority dominated the outcome. Bipartisanship of 13 members Credit commission sent the agreed budget to the House and Senate with opposition from a single Republican.
The compromise budget, with the support of Republican leaders, was expected to obtain the necessary supermajority. Then GOP House members rebelled against a budget that had been negotiated by their own elected representatives. The House GOP leader had to abandon them.
Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham said efforts had been made to reach a compromise. “But at the end of the day, I listen to my caucus and I answer them.” With remarkable honesty, he reported that he had accepted her refusal to agree. The GOP required even more concessions to add to its major victory on highway funding, which would have to lower taxes.
In the final tally, the compromise budget received only three Republican votes. Two came from members of the budget committee, veterans of the politics of political compromise who stood by their position, and the third was the leader of the GOP in the Senate.
Most Maine Republicans in the legislature had openly left shared values of compromise for partisan conflict. Their backs could have been stiffened when Democrats led the way on liberal abortion and gender legislation.
This situation revealed a lot about the Republican Party. While there may be more degrees of conservatism nationally, the division among the party’s factions was revealed by Maine’s budget change.
Nationally, the GOP is made up of four elements: Trump loyalists, the right or far right, strong conservatives, and moderate or economic conservatives.
Trump loyalists are united with Donald Trump (and possibly any successor named Trump). They can be understood as an ultra-loyal cult or at least an extremely ardent fan club. Where he leads in politics, they follow. If he is found legally guilty of anything, they would see him as the victim of a conspiracy.
The hard right puts partisanship above political responsibility. They don’t just disagree with Democrats; fly destroy the democrats. This leads to conspiracy theories and endless attempts to discredit their opponents. Social media lies are their weapons. Autocratic government is their goal. They are the Orbans.
Strong conservatives will continue to fight wedge problems like abortion, gender identity, and gun control, and they also support voter suppression and more emphasis on religious rights. They call for smaller government and lower taxes. They want to cut government aid programs for the poor and disadvantaged.
Traditional conservatives want lower taxes and reduced regulation, which they see as an obstacle to economic growth. The business wing of the party, they are less concerned about social issues than other conservatives. They are willing to seek compromises with the Democrats. Among Republicans, they fade. Maine’s budget vote proved that this was happening.
The growth of the hard right and strong conservatism is not limited to the U.S. The shift to the right has been seen at the end of UK membership of the European Union. Italy, Israel, sweden i France we have all seen the rise of parties on the right.
In the United States, the divide between strongly conservative states and other states that follow more traditional politics is increasingly evident, shown by the contrast of red and blue states. Conservative Republicans want to give voters a clear choice, not diluted by compromise. They believe this is the way to win. The 2024 election, with or without Trump, may be the key test for the powerful Republican right.
