A political science professor I respect once told me the Republican Party can be divided into three equal, highly divergent groups: Christian conservatives like Jerry Falwell, libertarians like John Stossel, and secular conservatives like Rudy Guliani.

The Republicans of our generation will be the ones deciding how this battle turns out. I am thankfully not among their ranks, but I can at least announce with pride that Republicans on this campus are definitively outclassing Republicans at both the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

Events planned at the University of Michigan by Morgan Wilkins, a Republican strategist who stood at the College Republicans booth at Festifall (their equivalent of our Quad Day), were going to celebrate “Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day” and hold a “Fun with Guns” event in which cardboard cut-outs of prominent Democrats were to be used for target practice. Michigan’s College Republicans distanced themselves from Wilkins after news of these planned events broke, though Michigan State University’s College Republicans issued a press release defending her.

This University’s College Republicans, by contrast, chose Justin Randall, a junior in political science, as their president. Randall is a secular, fiscally conservative Republican who is pro-choice and favors gay marriage. I recently sat down with him so he could explain his view of the Republican Party.

“I would like to see the image of the party change,” he told me. “Republicans are not all heavy-set, old, Caucasian men.” He went on to say that “policy-making should be secular and not based upon religion. I would like to see our party reach out more to the moderate voter.”

Randall had harsh words for the organizers of the Michigan events. “This is exactly the type of event that gives the Republican Party a bad name. We are not the party that oppresses minorities, much to the dismay of liberals, and an event like this only propagates that stereotype.”

Thus, Illinois’ College Republicans have made themselves into far more intimidating opponents than Michigan’s Republicans.

I stress to the skeptical reader that it is genuine moderation Randall possesses. John McCain, the frontrunner for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, has made a name for himself developing a reputation as a moderate, despite his pro-life, anti-gay marriage stances, and also despite his recent appearance at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University.

But Randall and his ideological brethren are moderate by any measure, while still upholding what they believe to be the true roots of conservative thinking. He defends the war in Iraq as a “necessary war” and passionately advocates the privatization of Social Security. He calls a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage “unnecessary governmental regulation,” and believes true conservatism means believing in “smaller government and fiscal responsibility.”

Democrats reading this column will likely chastise me for celebrating Randall’s Republicans. A Republican Party like his could stand in the way of genuine progress, they will argue, since it will take moderate votes away from the Democrats. And I agree with them. I believe the Democratic Party offers more for the American people than a moderate Republican Party.

But I also recognize the possibility that I’m wrong, and if this university’s Republican Party outlives Michigan’s, then I can at least look forward to a stimulating debate of ideas that will have some hope of ultimately pointing the country in the right direction. No longer would the predominant ideological struggle of our time be dictated by issues pandering to hatred and fear.

So long as Illinois’ version continues to outplay Michigan’s, we all have reason to be encouraged.

If only our football team could follow suit.