The guys at Politico write an interesting article about the way some leaders of the GOP are being pulled toward the middle, while the Republican base continues to lean to the right. You can understand the pressures on leaders to move left; press reactions and inside-the-Beltway views pull them in that direction.
If the leadership gets pulled to the left, the base does not. Opposition to same-sex marriage and amnesty for illegal immigrants continues to be strong. Ditto "tea party" opposition to higher government spending, taxes and debt
The article doesn't mention it but the GOP base isn't just against things. They favor a stronger military and a more confrontational foreign policy than does the Obama administration. They supported continued operation of the prison at Guantanamo and continued incarceration of the enemy combatants held there.
They also favor giving a cold shoulder to thuggish leaders of non-democratic states: the Castros, Chavez, Morales, and the like. They favor continued support of Colombia and Israel, and continued recognition of the "special relationship" with Britain.
Candidates are selected in primaries and caucuses, where the motivated and extreme voters of both parties are more likely to vote. Then nominees have to move to the center to pick up the independent, centrist voters who tend not to vote in primaries. It is an interesting dilemma, one that John McCain did not negotiate adroitly.
