By Alan K. Ota, CQ Staff

Moderate House Republicans are pushing back against efforts to march the GOP Conference in a conservative direction for this fall’s campaign season.

The centrists are reluctant to build their campaigns around a promise to stop earmarking funds for local projects or a call for an extreme makeover of the tax code. Those are the priorities of the House GOP’s conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC).

Some moderate Republicans plan to meet Tuesday with John A. Boehner , R-Ohio, to urge the minority leader not to issue edicts that might undermine moderates’ ability to vote in sync with prevailing sentiment in their districts.

An aide to one Republican lawmaker said the moderates want Boehner and the party to focus on gasoline price increases rather than on earmarks, a proposal for a two-tier flat tax or a proposed constitutional amendment to curb the growth of federal spending — all of which are being pushed by the RSC and are embraced by Boehner’s leadership team.

“Conservatives want to build a stronger brand for the party. But some moderates feel they each already have their own brand,” said one senior GOP aide.

Conservatives have argued for a sharper, more conservative agenda, and have pushed for votes in the conference to put members on record on issues including a mandatory earmark moratorium for House Republicans.

Jeb Hensarling of Texas, chairman of the RSC, wants the GOP Conference to take conservative stands on issues and is arguing against trying to satisfy moderate Republicans from swing districts. “In Texas, the only things you find in the middle of the road are yellow lines and dead armadillos,” Hensarling said.

Mark Steven Kirk , R-Ill., a leader of the centrist Tuesday Group, has backed the idea of a showdown vote on an earmark moratorium.

But other moderates are straddling the fence and joining forces with more cautious conservatives like appropriator Jack Kingston of Georgia, an RSC member who argues that the best strategy is to focus on bipartisan proposals to address the gas price issue with increased oil and gas drilling. “Shifting the focus to an earmark moratorium right now could step on the energy message,’’ said Kingston.

Not an Exact Match With McCain

While the RSC has been pushing for an agenda aimed at energizing the Republican Party’s conservative base, moderates in the Tuesday Group and the Republican Main Street Partnership would prefer a general election strategy that matches up with efforts by presumed GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona to move to the center in order to appeal to independent voters.

McCain has split from many in the congressional wing of his party on contentious issues like global warming, campaign finance and a proposal to repeal President Bush’s ban on broader federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

And McCain has close ties to centrists including Kirk and Fred Upton of Michigan in the House and to senators with an independent streak, including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Gordon H. Smith of Oregon.