Republican = Conservative?

I have never understood why the Republican party is so rooted in conservatism. I understand that that is their base and all, but why are the two synonymous? Conservatism is an ideology while the Republican Party is a political party. The two are not the same. An ideology is a mindset. A political party is a group of people with similar views and a set platform that presents candidates for public office.

The Democratic Party is made to look like a laughing stock because of (conservative) Blue-Dog Democrats. Meanwhile, the Republican Party keeps on trying to be conservative. This is the year 2010 -1980 was 30 years ago. Society has changed in 30 years. Okay, Reagan was a conservative Republican. However, that was then, this is now. A popular republican Twitter hashtag is "rebuild;" I have asked some friends what this means, I am always told (in some stubstance) 'rebuild the [Republican] party and restore it to its conservative roots.' Here is where the argument always fails, each time that I have heard it, I am told that we should follow Reaganesque policies and attachment methods. I will admit, Reagan was a fantastic orator and got many people to follow him. But, society has changed. Therefore, policies must change.

One of the main reasons I enjoy being a member of the Democratic Party is that we enjoy our differences. We don't follow an ideology and platform like a dogma (look at the RNC's "Purity Test"), we, in essence, (in my personal interpretation) say 'hey, here is our party platform, we create and vote on it every 4 years, embrace what parts of it you will; if you feel that you are a Democrat at heart, we will support you.'

The exact opposite is the case with the Republicans. Look at the recent race in New York's 23^rd Congressional District. Dede Scozzafava is a moderate Republican who supports abortion rights and same-sex marriage. However, she is also against President Obama's health care plan, cap-and-trade, the Stimulus Plan, and has a "A" score from the NRA. 'She is a moderate on social issues?! She isn't one of us!' Screamed conservatives. Who did Scozzafava endorse after she dropped out of the race? Well, he Republican brethren dropped her for Conservative Party member (who didn't even live in the district) Doug Hoffman. Why not Democrat Bill Owens? Well, she did just that.

Dear Republican Party,

If you want to rebuild, move to the center. Embrace moderates and liberals. You can be Republican and support gay and abortion rights. You can be a Republican and be for gun control. You can be a Republican and support 'Obamacare.' Being a member of a political party does not entail one to 'drink the Kool-Aid.' Rebuild your party! Embrace difference my Republican brethren! Welcome to the year 2010!