With George W. Bush moving towards an attempt at fundamentally altering America's tax structure, Edmund L. Andrews and David D. Kirkpatrick of The New York Times seem to indicate that the President's coalition might soon begin to break apart over the effort. They pen an article entitled "G.O.P. Constituencies Split on Tax Change."

Even though it will be months before President Bush proposes an overhaul of the income tax, key Republican groups are already divided about how or even whether to proceed. Regardless of which path Mr. Bush pursues, he is likely to be pulled by conflicts between parts of his political base.

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Christian conservatives want to promote charitable deductions and "family values," and may want to defend tax breaks for married couples with children.

"People are not going to give the kind of support necessary for tax reform that leaves the investor class untaxed," said Dr. Land, who is president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Commission. "That is not going to be politically viable."

Although there are very few issues upon which the Democrats and the Religious Right agree, Tax Reform might provide one instance for which the Dems reach out to the Evangelicals. It won't be easy, but presenting facts like this one can't hurt:

[President of Americans for Tax Reform Grover] Norquist supports the idea of a stealth tax overhaul, achieving the similar goal as a national sales tax but accomplishing it through backdoor changes like a big expansion of tax-free savings accounts.

It will definitely be a difficult road, but if the Democrats are indeed able to form a temporary coalition with the Religious Right over blocking regressive taxation, the GOP will have much less of a shot and maintaining control over federal and state governments in the upcoming elections.