That does seem likely, but it’s lamentable nonetheless.

Fusionism as a basis for a political coalition has fallen apart. This shouldn’t be surprising; what’s amazing is that such a paradoxical partnership between social conservatives and corporatists lasted so long.

However, like any well functioning market, political parties will change in order to maintain or gain power (e.g. Democrats in the 1990′s). In the near future, the Republican party’s prospects to hold political power are dire. But as Republicans loose power and loose their leaders, unorthodox candidates and philosophies will start to emerge. At some point the Republican party will find a philosophy that will garner electoral support and political power.

While its too soon to tell what kind of philosophy the Republican party will adhere to (this process will probably take a generation at least), I believe that Huckabee and Huckabeeism is the Republican party’s future.

What progressives and liberals have forgotten (to their peril), is that cultural conservativism is enormously popular–it is Grover Norquist and the corporatists that are held in ill favor by the electorate. Combine Huckabee with right-wing economic populism and you would find a very formidable political coalition.

Now, of course, the future of any political party with power adhering to small government philosophy is profoundly bleak. Of course, that has been the case since the Great Society, but it seems that this philosophy’s last dying gasps will occur in the next decade.