Arlen Specter

Since when does being a moderate Republican make someone some sort of fringe weirdo? Are people so ignorant of their own party's history? It seems that a lot of people are jumping on Specter for not having been a "real Republican". Where does this thought come from?

Up until Ford dropped Rockefeller for Dole in '76, the moderate and conservative parts of the party were pretty evenly matched. Goldwater pushed the conservatives a bit higher in the mid-'60s, but through the '40s and '50s, the moderates were pretty much in charge. Since the '80s, however, the conservatives have been solidly in charge of the party, and the moderates have been pushed further and further into the corner. At some point, the conservative Republicans forgot the moderates ever existed, even though there are still a few of them hanging on.

Moderate Republicans aren't some sort of rebel faction of the Republican party; they're just a few old guys who still like Ike.