GOP Looks to Avoid the Very Thing it Needs - the Intraparty Fight

Actually, the GOP needs an intraparty fight, given the recent flubs by the likes of Newt Gingrich. And Michael Steele's getting more grating all the time. In any case, at the New York Times, "Energized G.O.P. Looking to Avoid an Intraparty Feud" (via):

Republicans emerged from Tuesday’s elections energized by victories in Virginia and New Jersey, but their leaders immediately began maneuvering to avoid a prolonged battle with conservative activists over what the party stands for and how to regain power.

The victories, in races for governor, were cast by the party’s national chairman, Michael Steele, as a sign of a “Republican renaissance.” In New Jersey, Gov. Jon S. Corzine, a Democrat, was toppled by the Republican nominee, Christopher J. Christie. In Virginia, Robert F. McDonnell, the Republican, defeated his Democratic opponent, R. Creigh Deeds.

Republicans said the victories showed that President Obama and his party were vulnerable on the economy, government spending and other issues.

Yet throughout the day Wednesday, Republicans grappled with the disappointing outcome of a special election for what had been a reliably Republican House seat in upstate New York. That contest became a battleground between the party establishment and a conservative insurgency demanding more ideological purity from candidates.

The race was won by a Democrat, Bill Owens, after the Republican nominee, Dede Scozzafava, a moderate, quit as conservative leaders and grass-roots organizations rallied around Douglas L. Hoffman, who ran on the Conservative Party line.

Despite Mr. Hoffman’s loss, many conservatives promised to press on with opposition to centrist Republican candidates. That vow intensified concerns among party leaders that the opportunities they see coming out of Tuesday’s results could be dimmed by intramural battles over whether to reach for the political center or do more to motivate the base on the party’s right.

And you can see the huge problem with this piece, by the Times' Adam Nagourney. Dede Scozzafava was no "moderate." She had radical union backing and won awards as an abortion extremist. The old-line press, by speaking of hardcore leftists as "moderates," actually emboldens conservative activists even more. The whole D.C.-New York "corridor" is corrupted by the RINO-DIABLO infection.

On with the intraparty fight, I say. Let's get the GOP back to basics so we can restore some liberty in this country.