Red Republicans, Indeed

From the party partly founded by Marxist veterans of 1848 who had gone on to fight for the Union, comes a startling outbreak of economic populism among those seeking to stop Mitt Romney. Up to a point, it was always there, of course: Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower, aspects of Nixon and Ford, even aspects of Reagan. But this goes well beyond that.

The Democrats absorbed most of the old Northeastern Republicans, making themselves financially dependent on holding to a combination of liberal social policies and the economic policies favoured by, because favouring, big business. Whereas the Republicans absorbed most of the old Southern Democrats, making themselves electorally dependent on holding to social conservatism. That ought also to have made them electorally dependent on holding to economic populism. Somehow, though, it never did.

Until now.

In November 2011, Democratic Governor Steve Beshear was re-elected by a margin of 20 points. In Kentucky. In Mississippi, the constitutional recognition of personhood from conception, while opposed by the outgoing Republican Governor, was supported not only by the Republican nominee to succeed him, but also by the Democrat, who is black. The Southern Democrats are on the way back. Only this time, they come in both colours. The impending Romney nomination makes it look as if the GOP has reverted to being the party of big business social liberalism, with what used to be called liberal interventionism thrown in, but of nothing else.

That is nowhere near a large enough constituency to carry the Electoral College, or to win or keep control of either House of Congress. But, especially if accompanied by at least lip service to conservative social principles and to international nonintervention, economic populism is. That is the rising Republican challenge to the Democrats. Their answer should be that their economic populism is integrated with, not lip service to, but the reality of conservative social policies and international nonintervention.

There is no conceivable policy reason for the supporters of any other Republican candidate to vote for Mitt Romney. Let them be given at least some policy reason to vote for Barack Obama. And even more to vote for the Democratic nominee in 2016.