GOP Infighting Percolating -- Shays calls Party a "Theocracy"

This is a very interesting article in today's NY Times, "G.O.P. Right Is Splintered on Schiavo Intervention." Apparently, there is a growing schism in the GOP over how the Schiavo case was handled (hmmm....for the politicians, does this have anything to do with the poll numbers?)

"This is a clash between the social conservatives and the process conservatives, and I would count myself a process conservative," said David Davenport of the Hoover Institute, a conservative research organization. "When a case like this has been heard by 19 judges in six courts and it's been appealed to the Supreme Court three times, the process has worked - even if it hasn't given the result that the social conservatives want. For Congress to step in really is a violation of federalism."

Stephen Moore, a conservative advocate who is president of the Free Enterprise Fund, said: "I don't normally like to see the federal government intervening in a situation like this, which I think should be resolved ultimately by the family: I think states' rights should take precedence over federal intervention. A lot of conservatives are really struggling with this case."

That Stephen Moore is the same guy who ran the Club for Growth. So when he weighs in, it means something.

The article also quotes Senator John Warner (R-VA) who voted against the Schiavo bill, "It looks as if it's a wholly Republican exercise," Mr. Warner said, "but in the ranks of the Republican Party, there is not a unanimous view that Congress should be taking this step."

Then, there are the money quotes from Chris Shays (R-CT):

"My party is demonstrating that they are for states' rights unless they don't like what states are doing," said Representative Christopher Shays of Connecticut, one of five House Republicans who voted against the bill. "This couldn't be a more classic case of a state responsibility."

"This Republican Party of Lincoln has become a party of theocracy," Mr. Shays said. "There are going to be repercussions from this vote. There are a number of people who feel that the government is getting involved in their personal lives in a way that scares them."