By CHRIS BRENNAN
Philadelphia Daily News
 
brennac@phillynews.com 215-854-5973
 
BARACK OBAMA threw a wild party last night and the Republicans woke up this morning with a vicious hangover and concerns about their bedmates.
 
Economic conservatives and culture warriors, two GOP factions long in an uneasy alliance, now must decide to part ways or push forward as a political minority in search of redemption.
 
John McCain, who in 2000 famously denounced the "agents of intolerance" courted by his party, tried this year to appeal to them. His lasting result is perhaps leaving his vice-presidential pick, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, as the new darling of the political forces he once loathed.
 
Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia, said Palin would likely lead the cultural conservative faction's efforts to control the party in 2012 in a battle with Republicans seeking a more centrist approach. That fight, he said, will focus on the "irreconcilable conflict" on conservative principles.
 
"This is inevitable," Sabato said. "There is going to be an explosion and implosion in the Republican Party."
 
Charlie Kopp, a local attorney and fundraiser for former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney in the Republican primary, agrees that a battle is brewing between GOP factions. He predicts the winners will be more practical and less ideological.
 
"I think you will see a strong movement in the party that will point to a more inclusive philosophy than we've had in the last 10 years," Kopp said. "You're going to see that trend in the next eight years because I think the party now realizes that the formula that worked so well in the last 30 years may not be viable for successful elections in the next 30 years."
 
Mark Holman, a McCain supporter and former chief of staff to Gov. Tom Ridge, thinks some of the rhetoric about a GOP civil war is overblown, but he does anticipate changes for his party.
 
"I think the time has come for the party not to exclude a good Republican who is pro-choice from being considered for the president or vice president," Holman said.
 
Ridge was reportedly rejected on McCain's short list for vice president because he is pro-choice. Ridge said last month that his selection could have won Pennsylvania for McCain. Holman isn't picking any rhetorical fights with Palin or her supporters.
 
"This isn't about her or any individual," Holman said. "It's about the party opening up for real."
 
The route back, Holman predicts, will be through Republicans recapturing governorships. He will be working with the Republican Governors Association to focus on the New Jersey statehouse next year and 38 other races in 2010.
 
"Our effort will be designed to take back our majority status, state by state," Holman said.
 
Are Republicans, who eight years ago spoke about creating a permanent majority in the U.S. Congress, now doomed to have the exact opposite? No, said Sabato. Change will come again.
And how will Republicans regain political power?
"The Democrats will screw up," Sabato said. "It will be on the economy or a war or a scandal. It will be after four years or eight years or 12 years. Nobody knows."