re: #308 opnion

Real, you don’t see the Democrats purging their extreme elements.
Hell they consider their extremists to be main stream & give them jobs as Czars.
You don’t win by subtraction. There are enough mainstream Repulicans to dilute the kooks. Creationists etc are not why McCain lost, people were angry at Bush & wanted change

Extreme elements do not hurt a broad spectrum majority, as long as they don’t alienate the party’s most conservative elements. On the other hand, you do see the internecine conflict within the Democratic tent exemplified today in the healthcare debate.