Our Views: Party purity limits GOP

• Advocate Opinion page staff
• Published: Nov 6, 2009 - Page: 8B

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American politics being as competitive as they are, it would be difficult to find a district more Republican than the 23rd House seat in upstate New York. Parts of the district have been represented by Republicans since the 19th century.

Now, because of a right-wing insurgency backed by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin among others, the seat is held by a Democrat, Bill Owens. He defeated Conservative Party candidate Douglas L. Hoffman in a special election caused by the resignation of the incumbent Republican member. The official Republican candidate earlier had pulled out of the race, barraged by attacks from Washington right-wing groups.

This result is a step toward narrowing a national party into a sect characterized by a rigid orthodoxy. The decision to back Hoffman in a war about the party’s direction not only directly handed away a seat in the House to the opposition, but fueled a movement that is aimed at making the Republican Party more ideologically pure.

What is wrong with that notion? After all, the Republicans are the more conservative party. Getting a little more so can’t be all bad, can it?

Two gubernatorial elections, after all, were won by conservative candidates in New Jersey and Virginia. Given that the party in control of the White House often loses seats in Congress in the first off-year election, the GOP reasonably can hope 2010 will see a significant gain.

What is problematic about the insurgency in New York’s 23rd District? A party that sheds its moderate wing will have great difficulty appealing to voters in districts beyond the more conservative regions in the South.

Already, the GOP has suffered back-to-back defeats in national elections. The path forward must recover ground in previously rock-ribbed GOP strongholds such as Virginia and Indiana. But the question is whether the GOP can be purer and be nationally competitive. Essentially writing off in presidential contests more moderate states — not just California and New York, but a broad swath of the Midwest and some Rocky Mountain states such as Colorado — makes the Electoral College math difficult for a Republican nominee in 2012. And it’s difficult to see a party slate of ultraconservatives being competitive in many House and Senate races in those states.

For Democrats and for President Barack Obama, winning a House district because of a Republican split is small consolation for losing governorships, both held in the past term by Democrats. However, in hard economic times and with the natural attrition in popularity that occurs for parties in most states, those losses probably don’t hold the lessons for the future of the Democratic Party that the New York race held for the GOP.