The report today from the Wall Street Journal is that a good-sized faction of the pro-business wing of the Republican Party is defecting because of the Bush Administration’s rampant deficit spending and their ignoring several important business issues such as healthcare and global warming. These pro-business types are also upset that the Republican Party is beholden to the social conservatives and their causes, and they just don’t agree with those causes.

The whole article is well worth the time it takes to read it. Jackie Calmes musters both anecdotal evidence from individuals on Wall Street, business leaders from around the country, from the Chamber of Commerce, a once reliable Republican supporter, from polls and from FEC documents showing businesses supporting Democratic candidates more than ever before. Will it be a realignment here? I’m not so sure. Democrats have to keep a handle on the spending to lure these business types into the fold and keep them there, but this is definitely good news.

I am particularly heartened by some of the people interviewed who note that they are not nearly the anti-tax hawks as are the Republicans in Congress.

In Washington, Republican leaders’ relations are no longer as cozy as they once were with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s foremost business group, with its temple-like headquarters facing the White House. “It’s a much more complex relationship than it used to be,” says Chamber political director William Miller.

For example, he says, the Chamber supports a higher gasoline tax if revenues are dedicated to funding highways and bridges that truckers and other businesses want, and to hold down deficits. But that has put the Chamber at odds with antitax Republicans in Congress and the administration. That split comes atop other tensions over trade and, especially, immigration. As the party’s base has shifted south and west, it has become more protectionist and focused on secure borders. Business generally favors free trade and liberal immigration laws that keep workers coming and employer sanctions to a minimum.

Richard Cooper of Winnetka, Ill., a 67-year-old investor and former chairman of Weight Watchers Inc., hasn’t just switched parties — he is helping Sen. Clinton’s campaign. An early Reaganite, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Illinois governor in 1976. He says he has been alienated in recent years by Republican policies across the board. A leader of the international “Responsibility to Protect” project for global action against humanitarian crises, he opposes Bush foreign policies. The father of a daughter with lupus, he wants funding for stem-cell research, which antiabortion Republicans oppose.

As for fiscal policy, Mr. Cooper contends that “Democrats are the new conservatives.” Republicans “are still talking about tax cuts. It was one thing when Ronald Reagan was doing it and the top [income-tax] rate was about 80%. Now tax rates are reasonable. So what if I have to pay 5% more in taxes?”

Mr. Cooper is right here. We are taxed in order that our country as a whole benefits from the services produced thereby. And there are many services that could produce positve economic reactions. If we find a way to get healthcare to all we’ll finally beat healthcare costs that are crippling our economy. If we provide help to develop energy sources that help lower the emission of greenhouse gasses, we can export those technologies. New businesses and products can lead the way to a healthy economy, especially in an environment where helthcare costs aren’t looming to cripple new businesses.

It isn’t often that I praise the Wall Street Journal, but this article by Jackie Calmes is worth a read. Let’s face it. Republicans have abandoned fiscal responsibility in favor of bending over for the Radical Religious Right. They will suffer for that, and I’m not going to weep for them.