Within the purposes of trying to chart all ideological differences along a single axis, a few observations about this look at House Republicans over the last century:
1. The most conservative GOP representatives in the House a century ago would be among the most liberal in today's Congress. The same is true even during the Gingrich Speakership in the late 90s. The GOP of the Eisenhower and Nixon Eras would never be even be on the map.
2. Though the House GOP, overall, is more conservative than ever, its spread of conservatism is wider than ever. The result is that they are hugely united when opposing the Democrats (with very few crossover votes), but very divided when it comes to making policy decisions for themselves. That seems to have been the conflict that eventually drove Boehner to resign.
Republicans Were More United Than Ever Under John Boehner
John Boehner’s tenure as speaker of the House, which will end with his resignation next month, is striking because of a seeming contradiction. By statistical measures, it featured an extraordinary …
They were united against the President. Little more.
+keith olszewski Obama has been the flash point, but I'm not at all convinced this won't carry over to the next Dem in the White House, too.
+Dave Hill absolutely. If they didn't, some radical segment of the party will say that they're not conservative enough.