The Republican Party has long been the party of America’s conservatives. From Abraham Lincoln, who held the conservative notion that states cannot secede; to Theodore Roosevelt, who (despite a healthy dose of progressive notions) displayed the distinctly conservative view that we should not devastate our nation’s natural resources; to modern presidents like Ronald Reagan, who believed in conserving America’s moral fiber; conservatism abounds in the Republican Party.

That conservatism surely has its place in our government. Without it, progressive ideas, which have adopted the name “liberal,” could overrun our nation in a bad way. Really either of the two political leanings can be bad in excess, which is why it has historically been just fine to have a mix of both.

In recent years, we have seen a call by some conservatives who deem themselves as varying degrees of “extremely conservative” to abandon the Republicans’ role as one-half of a whole working system.

Instead of working with those who hold liberal ideas and desire progressive reforms, today’s “true” conservative is told by a variety of sources that he or she must resist the urge to have any opinions that are not conservative enough, resist the urge to see the world from another’s perspective and above all, resist the urge to compromise.

It can certainly be said that, despite this movement, there are a great many Republicans across the nation and even in Washington who do not think that these are the right ways to define their party. There are undoubtedly Republicans who do not wish to be working in isolation from those across the aisle, but they are unfortunately being corralled by a far-right (read: Tea Party) movement into just such isolation.

A potent example of that kind of corralling is the government shutdown we are currently staggering through. The whole mess came about when the far-right part of the Republican Party convinced Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, to include a provision to defund the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, in the most recent continuing resolution for the federal government’s budget.

That provision was not acceptable to the Democrat-controlled Senate or to the president, and it was assured before the fiasco began that the Republicans did not have the votes to impose their will upon the government.

It would then seem an unworthy cause, but introduce Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas and a host of other “true conservatives” who make it publicly clear that any vote for a clean budget — one without an amendment regarding Obamacare — would be a vote for Obamacare.

Voting for Obamacare — or anything that appears positive towards Obama, for that matter — is a surefire way for any Republican lawmaker to face a primary challenge in his or her home district next election.

Several well-funded conservative think tanks and organizations will jump at the chance to introduce or support a new Republican candidate, who shares their open contempt for anything resembling moderation.

One of the most famous exemplars of this far-right support system is the Heritage Foundation. While it used to be known as a more moderate voice of realistic policy solutions, the Heritage Foundation has drifted further and further from its academic goals, now little more than a campaign group for anti-Obama rhetoric.

Former Sen. Jim DeMint, president of the Heritage Foundation, forewarned of the government shutdown this last summer, when he claimed: “The risk of that [a government shutdown] is so much less than the risk to our country if we implement Obamacare.”

DeMint also said that if Republicans do not vote to defund Obamacare, it is because they are afraid and that “if they are, they need to be replaced.”

Clearly, the Heritage Foundation, like many other so-called conservative organizations has lost its bearings in the sea of American politics. The idea that a small ideological group can dominate our nation’s politics simply by attempting to replace any and all legislators who disagree is shockingly obtuse.

While many voters may love the spectacle of anti-government rants or support candidates who claim they will stand up against the tyrants in Washington, it is the moderate Republicans who can work with others to actually get things done.

If the Republican Party keeps going down the far-right path, we will likely have a government that either cannot run at all or is dominated by the progressive wing of our country, since moderates will be pushed from the Republican ranks.

I hardly think either is what most conservatives in America want.