Molly Ivins June 16

AUSTIN — Perhaps the most curious thing about the Republican Party of Texas at this point is that it is not really a political organization. I suppose we could quibble over definitions, but if you compare the Republican State Convention to the recent Southern Baptist General Convention in Salt Lake City, you'd see a lot more similarity between the issues concerning those two groups than to the issues at the upcoming Democratic State Convention. The Republicans just do not have a very political agenda.

At the Republican State Convention, the top issues were: 1) abortion, 2) school prayer and 3) moral values in general. Of what is, I believe, the foremost political problem of our day, the one that dwarfs all other — the system of legalized bribery we call campaign financing — nary a word was heard, even though the leading sponsors in both House and Senate are Republican.

If you assume — and I do — that the corruption of American politics by money is the root cause of almost all of our other political problems, this is an odd omission. The party platform, in one sentence, opposes any and all reforms. That's especially curious given that there is a real populist feeling about the Texas GOP these days, a real sense of ordinary folks against the elites.

The most common reading of the R's these days is that they have a dangerous split between cultural conservatives and economic conservatives. But if you look beneath the surface, it's actually a split between populism and corporatism, except that debate is not happening.

An example: I talked with a lovely woman who is active in the GOP because her daughter lost a baby at birth — such a traumatic experience for the entire family — and it left her with terribly strong feelings about the evils of late-term abortion. It also happens that this woman and her husband run a family-owned business that makes children's sweaters. As we talked about the mergers of department stores and banks, the disappearance of manufacturing jobs overseas, particularly in the clothing industry, and other facts of economic life, I could just as well have been having a conversation with Michael Moore, the populist writer and main character in "The Big One." Absolutely no difference.

A similar curiosity: While much was heard on school prayer, nothing was heard about the environment. This was during the age of global warming, when the heat practically knocked you over every time you left the convention center. Yet the entirety of the state GOP platform on the environment consists of praise for private property and a recommendation that the government do nothing about the environment. ("The environment is best served by individuals working in their own best interest." Think about that one for a while.)

Now this is in a state that has been covered with a cloud of pollution from burning rain forests in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras for weeks. Most of the fires were started by individuals working in their own best interest. At the souvenir stalls in the Exhibit Hall was a cute number that read: "Pave the Rain Forest."

I assume that is supposed to outrage the enviros.

But maybe I'm missing some deeper plan: If we pave the rain forests, we'll sure as sin need prayer in the schools and everywhere else — not that prayer would do much good at that point. Since Republicans are well-to-do, maybe they think they can just stay in their air-conditioned homes and ignore the environment, though I don't quite see why they assume their trees, their grass, their corn and their cattle aren't going to dry up and die along with everyone else's.

Oddly enough, the economy was not much of a topic either. An old political truism has it that the only two real political questions are: "Who's getting screwed?" and "Who's doing the screwing?" As populists have often pointed out, the old political paradigm of politics as a spectrum that runs from right to left is actually irrelevant: The real political spectrum runs from top to bottom, and the real political questions are the same as ever.

Again, the populist instinct on the R side is noticeably strong. There is a real resentment of "country-club Republicans," to use the common stereotype. Not just resentment but suspicion, even a touch of paranoia: The platform still contains a demand to investigate the Trilateral Commission, an old right-wing bugbear, and the delegates insisted on floor debate of proposed rules changes out of suspicion that the people running the party might somehow be trying to put one over on them.

Again what was NOT debated — political issues — seemed to me the most striking feature of the convention. The state GOP wants Congress to stop funding the International Monetary Fund "because the IMF props up foreign tyrants and gives American tax money to international bankers." Now I know for a fact that the corporate donors who support the party no more agree with that than they can dance the lead in "Swan Lake." I think the way the IMF structures loans is pretty ungodly myself, but no serious political debate would frame the issue as "IMF or No IMF."

In recent weeks, both wings of the Republican Party have threatened to bolt because the other side is in the ascendant — though it's hard to say how serious they are. James Dobson, the right-wing radio preacher, threatened House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the other congressional leaders and as a consequence, we are now seeing all the divisive social issues — the Istook Amendment on "religious freedom" (read, mandatory school prayer), abortion, etc. — eating up what little remaining time Congress has to do anything. This in turn upset the moneybags, who are especially peeved about Republican efforts to vilify Clinton for trading with China. (FYI for those who don't follow politics: The real China lobby in this country is American business. Mess with their trade agreements, and they'll bolt to the Clinton D's.)

In chess, that's called a fork. The R's also lack a national leader they all like (this is why they so mourn the Great Communicator) and are stuck with Newt Gingrich, who has changed sides so many times, it's ludicrous. I'd say this split is quite serious for the R's at the national level but far less so at the state level. While the Christian right is not crazy about Kay Bailey Hutchison, or even George Dubya (he's too country club for their taste and his father's son), they are united by the prospect of victory.

Molly Ivins is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. To find out more about Molly Ivins and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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