The 2006 elections marked the defeat of several so-called GOP moderates. What remains is an even more hard-core right wing Republican caucus. There is no room for moderation with that crowd -- there never was. The GOP is going to be even uglier than in past sessions. Not only have they lost power, but the worst elements in the party remain:
With the defeat of Leach and several other Republican moderates Nov. 7, the Democrats' victory in the midterm election accelerates a three-decade-old pattern of declining moderate influence and rising conservative dominance in the Republican Party. By one measure, the GOP is more ideologically homogenous now than it has been in modern history. The waning moderate wing must find its place when the Democratic majority takes over in January.The problem for the GOP moderates is that the first votes they cast every session were for the extremely conservative leaders like Tom DeLay in the House and Trent Lott in the Senate. And, with the GOP was in the majority, support for that kind of leadership undermined any hope for passing reasonable legislation. In 2006 was the electorate figured that out.
"The irony of this election is that the public, in seeking change, has . . . weakened the center," Leach said recently. "In a sense, what has occurred is the strengthening of the edges of the parties."
Eight of the House's 20 most moderate Republicans lost their seats: Rob Simmons and Nancy L. Johnson (Conn.); Jeb Bradley and Charles Bass (N.H.); Michael G. Fitzpatrick and Curt Weldon (Pa.); Sue W. Kelly (N.Y.); and Leach. Also, moderate GOP Rep. Sherwood L. Boehlert (N.Y.), is retiring, and he will be replaced by Democrat Michael A. Arcuri, the Oneida County district attorney.
On the Senate side, the defeat of Lincoln D. Chafee (R-R.I.), a critic of the war who declined to vote for Bush's reelection in 2004, underscored the same trend.
There is no room for reason in the Republican Party.
And, for the record, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) is not a moderate. She's been very loyal to her party and her president, George Bush. UPDATE: The Hill reported today that Collins was one of the deciding votes that brought Trent Lott back to the second ranking spot in GOP Senate Leadership. It's impossible to be a moderate when you vote for a racist as your leader:
Sen. Trent Lott’s (R-Miss.) stunning return to the Senate leadership was made possible by the last-minute defections of Sens. John Warner (R-Va.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) from Sen. Lamar Alexander’s (R-Tenn.) rival campaign for Republican whip.
