Glenn Reynolds has an extended post on the growing foreign policy rift in the Democratic Party. While it, and the many items he links to, provide a good read, this really isn’t a new issue. This writer, and the folks at The New Republic, have commented on it extensively in the past. The appointment of Howard Dean as DNC Chairman, coupled with Hillary Clinton as the presumptive ’08 Presidential candidate, does not bode well for resolution any time soon.

But also important to note is the growing social policy rift in the Republican Party, as documented in this new book by former New Jersey governor and EPA chief, Christine Todd-Whitman, followed up by her website. Among Whitman’s points:

1. Whitman argues that this shift poses a serious threat to the long-term health and competitiveness of the Republicans, a party in which moderates like Whitman, Colin Powell, Rudolph Giuliani, John McCain, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and George Pataki are paraded in public when necessary, but openly opposed behind the scenes.
2. Whitman refers to those on the far right as "social fundamentalists" whose "mission is to advance their narrow ideological agenda" by using the government to impose their views on everyone else. Though she admits that evangelicals may have helped to win the 2004 election, they have claimed much more credit than they deserve for Bush’s success, and she warns that catering to this narrow group will have consequences.