As Jamelle wrote below, Christine O'Donnell's win in the Republican primary for Senate last night over the popular Mike Castle is evidence of how extreme the Republican Party has gotten:
The Republican Party's rigid conservatism is completely inhospitable to progressive ideas, and a federal government dominated by these figures and a Republican White House is vastly more likely to start needless wars and redistribute wealth from the bottom to the top. A GOP raised on lies and mired in extremism is helpful in the short-run but dangerous for the future; liberals don't have to help moderate Republicans -- or even like them -- but they should at least appreciate their value. For now though, Christine O'Donnell -- along with others, like Arizona's Jan Brewer and Alaska's Joe Miller -- is the new face of the GOP, win or lose. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
The bright spot is that not only will the NRSC not spend money or raise it on O'Donnell's behalf, but Castle has said he won't back her. That's a departure from the phony kumbaya after most primaries in most years, but it is a feature this year when anti-establishment Republican candidates beat the party favorites. It's also honest: Castle and the NRSC view O'Donnell as a bad candidate, and it's nice to see them sticking to that assessment.
-- Monica Potts
