Are “conservative Republicans” really either conservative or Republican, or even Christian?

It occurs to me, after a thoughtful exchange with one of my daughters, that there is a real question whether the current conservative Republican party is really conservative. They say all the right things, but they don’t do as they say.

Republicans say they want to reduce the size of the federal government, but the last time they held the reins of government, under President George W. Bush, they actually increased federal employment slightly (by about 35,000), and they certainly didn’t reduce it.

Republicans say they want to cut the federal budget deficit and reduce the national debt, but the last time they held the reins of government, under President George W. Bush, they actually increased the national debt $4.899 trillion over his eight years in office. True, Obama has done worse in his first three years in office, but the Republicans didn’t do anything to help the problem last time they were in power.

Republicans say they want the federal government to butt out of our private lives, but they eagerly support federal laws to limit abortions, prohibit gay marriage, and allow all sorts of invasions of privacy under the “Patriot Act” -- which hardly looks like the federal government “butting out” of our private lives.

It seems to me that what the Republican party has really become is a fundamentalist Christian religious party. The success of Santorum’s candidacy, with his wildly right-wing fundamentalist Christian views, supports that. And even the “Christian” part is questionable, because I don’t think Jesus would be very happy with the stiff-necked intolerance displayed these days – these “Christians” look a lot more like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, intolerant, rigid, and absolutely sure they are right and everyone else is wrong.

I’m not at all happy with Obama and his free-spending “progressives”, but I am much less happy with letting a fundamentalist religious party run the American government. It sure would be nice if some real Republicans and real conservatives showed up again on the political scene.