Republicans and Interest Groups: Maybe you should write this one, Razor. As I said before, I think the NRA is among the most powerful on the GOP side, but Republicans -- particularly in the Senate -- are big compromisers on the issue. We know from experience that shrinking government isn't a litmus test for Republicans anymore. Nor are tax cuts, really. The pressure on GOP congressmen to support tax cuts has come mainly from the president himself. I suppose if I had to name a group that had the biggest pull on GOP politicians in general, it would be subsidized business -- although it's such a disparate group as to wield little clout in the style of the NRA. There are a lot of Republicans who work against corporate welfare, though. Dick Armey comes to mind. Pete DuPont ran for president in '88 as a farm-subsidies abolitionist. Note that he didn't win the heartland primaries.

Is the GOP actually the bigger tent of the two parties? There's an argument to be made there, at least.