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SJSinNYC:
I think you are mistaken about them “relying on kulos that you would never rely on in your own home.” Having personally dealt with the OU on a number of kashrus issues, I know for a fact that they do not rely on kulos (which would be totally fine) and in fact sometimes are machmir for chumros so that they can appeal to broader spectrum.
For instance, they do not rely on any bitul related kulos…
Capital punishment doesn’t seem to be an issue of dina d’malchus. Paying taxes, property ownership, legal contracts etc…are what most gemaras and rishonim discuss when dealing with this topic. Perhaps the rambam would include it as he seems to view dina d’malchus as an offshoot of dinei melech which could incorporate anything the king wants to do.
Killing people in response to committing crimes is a very interesting halachic issue but is probably more of a question with regards to dinei nefesh than dina d’malchusa dina.
A few chilukim/points:
Re: Political Coservatism – I think right wing politicians are usually in line with our views on Israel, general morality in the US, and even economics. However, I’m not sure that their opinons on stem cell research and abortion is in accordance with the general piskei halacha… So as a whole, it’s a winner, but not 1 for 1 exactly what we feel.
Moving to the ‘right’ needs to strike a good balance. On one hand, it’s a tremendous accomplishment that more people are shomrei mitzvos. Some halachos which fell to the wayside in previous generations are being revived. Checking for shatnez, for instance, was unheard of 50 years ago. However, even as we learn and observe more, we should always remember that klal yisroel encompasses a large spectrum and so does the frum community. That being the case, we always have to differentiate between chumros and halacha as not to overburden the masses and alienate those that can’t hack such a restrictive lifetsyle.