Six months after its worst defeat in a Presidential Election since 1996, Republican’s battle for party leadership, modernization

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the final part of a three-part series about the future of the Republican Party.

As approval and popularity ratings for President George W. Bush plummeted, Republican politicians in all branches of government, at local, regional and the national level, fought to disconnect their own legacies from that of the unpopular president.

But while for many, simply decrying Bush’s policies served as sufficient distance, others took a more radical route, leaving the party all together.

Founded in 1971, the Libertarian Party has long been considered a more radical arm of the GOP, however, by campaigning Bob Barr, a former-Republican congressman from Georgia, the nations largest third party expressed it’s discontent with the GOP.

While Barr’s showing in the big dance was far from influential, receiving only .4% of the national vote, his defection marked a trend among many small-government, Barry Goldwater Republicans.

Barr was not the first former-Republican to sit atop the Libertarian Party presidential ticket. In 1988, current Texas Congressman and 2008 presidential candidate Ron Paul left the GOP to run as a Libertarian.

The appeal of the Libertarian Party are obvious. With political stances opposed to almost all federal government regulation -from taxes to marijuana -it’s easy to see why a young generation would flock to this third party.

As the 2008 primaries played out, many leaders within the Christian right, one of the most influential interest groups in American politics in the last 20 years, express discontent with the stances of many of the GOP frontrunners on social issues.

Leaders such as James Dobson openly threatened to form a third party if former-New York City Mayor Rudy Gulliani was selected as the party’s nominee.

For Republicans like Dobson, few political issues are as important as abortion and gay marriage, which are among the most divisive in the country. And, as the GOP rebounds from eight years of Bush’s conservative  social policies, which were detested by much of the country, Christian conservatives may have to look elsewhere.

Founded in 1992, the Constitution Party may be a respite for social conservatives disenfranchised by the ever-changing political stances of the GOP.

The third largest political party in the U.S., the Constitution Party draws much of its national platform from the literal interpretation of the Constitution, Bible and Declaration of Independence.

Among the Constitution Party’s social stances are the beliefs that illegal immigration should be suppressed with troops, euthanasia and abortion should not prohibited, gay marriage should not be allowed and English should be a pre-requisite for citizenship.

The Republican Party has seen multiple defections, or threats of defection, from prominent party members including: Pat Buchanan, Alan Keyes, Jim Gilchrist and Bob Smith.

While it is uncertain whether either of these parties will be able to pull themselves into the first tier of political competition, one thing is clear: the GOP has stiff competition for conservative voters.

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