Ronald Reagan brought the two factions together, but it was an uneasy truce. George Bush senior was a member of the big-business faction, which riled the social conservatives. You remember the trouble they caused at the 1992 convention, turning off moderate voters across America. But now big-business is firmly in charge of the Republican party, and business wants nothing to do with things like banning abortion or discriminating against gays or immigrants or anyone else. In an increasingly competitive world, intolerance is bad for business.
Compassion means giving everyone an equal opportunity to make it big.
Government should do a decent job educating people, and then, by this view, get out of the way. Big business took over the Republican party because it took over the financing of the party. Corporate contributions, much coming by way of so-called soft money, have soared in the last couple of years. Business contributions have also soared in the Democratic party. The only social agenda here is socializing.