Well, I might as well try to offer some form of opinion on the ongoing debate on the front page – especially as I think a lot of people are really missing the point on both Arlen Specter and Jim DeMint.

With as much ranting as we’re doing about Pat Toomey, Jim DeMint,  and the Club for Growth – we should probably note that none of these people have anything to do with Specter’s underlying problem. Arlen’s problems go back at least to 1996, when he ran for President. Just two years after the GOP won a majority under Gingrich, Specter prefaced his entire campaign on the idea that conservatives were totally unelectable and that Republicans could only win if they became hard-line centrists – and frankly this has been the focus of most of his career. His moderate views were not the issue, his attitude problem was the issue.

Arlen Specter’s distaste for conservatives caused him to devote himself to undermining the party from inside. So, instead of working within the party, he spent his time kvetching about how horrible we were. He might as well have stood on a mountain and shouted, “Hey, moderates….WE SUCK!!! Please, please, please don’t vote Republican!”. That is why I was not sorry to see him go – not because I like “RINO hunting”.

Specter was digging his own grave long before anyone heard of Pat Toomey. The challenge from Toomey was merely a symptom, Specter himself was the disease.

He wanted a purge of conservatives and total rebirth of the GOP as a center or center-left party. As opposed to compromise builders such as Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter was as much of a “hardline true believer”  as Jim DeMint – just with radically different goals.

And while we’re on the subject of Senator DeMint, let’s do a reality check. Yes, the man is a conservative “true believer” if there ever was one. He also finds himself to be a minority of one on a surprising number of issues. It is madness to assume that he had any effect on Specter, or even that he has much power within the GOP caucus. That said, while I do not share his taste for “RINO hunting”, I do have a great deal of respect for the man and think he plays a very valuable role.

On one hand, moderates like Collins and Snowe rightly get credit for slashing billions from the stimulus. However, it was DeMint who actually dared to offer a counter-proposal based on massive tax cuts and deep cuts in spending. While the moderates are busy crafting compromises, it is the true believers who are actually crafting the alternative ideas that we will need to win the next election.  Will they pass their bills? No, but they still contribute in a major way.

I don’t want to drop to 30 Senators, but DeMint did have a point. If a party is divided against itself and lacks any real commitment to principle, then it undermines its viability and – and the long run – sabotages it’s ability to win. Now, that doesn’t mean that we need to purge moderates, but it does mean that we occasionally have to cut out individuals who have become cancers (Arlen Specter, Larry Craig, Ted Stevens, David Vitter). If you are so concerned with numbers that you are willing to tolerate destructive influences, then you do serious long term damage – as we witnessed over the last eight years.

Furthermore, you can really afford to cut the fat when the next election is relatively meaningless in terms of numbers – which happens both when you are a very large majority and when you are a very small minority. I would argue that the 2010 election will be largely  inconsequential, as the Dems are almost certain to hold their 60 seats. Even if we defeat Dodd in Connecticut – we are still likely to lose Gregg’s seat in New Hampshire and at least one other seat. Hence, in my opinion, this is the perfect time to be cutting out people like Specter – who can do serious long term damage to the party.

This does not mean we need to throw out moderates – and in some cases I think there is a big opening for moderate Republicans. Not only does Rob Simmons have a good shot in Connecticut, but Mike Castle could make a serious run for Biden’s old seat in Delaware (I would also mention Joseph Cao taking out David Vitter here, but certain people in the comments section would probably tar and feather me).  However, we do need to get rid of certain people who hurt our ability to define ourselves as an honest, viable party for the 21st century.

PS – Alex, if you believe that DeMint is a such a destructive force in the GOP – would you be open to drafting a primary challenger for him? If so, how does this differ from the Toomey-Specter race?