The theory that is being tossed around, even more so after the Specter developments, is that the far right is destroying the Republican party from within. Using a variety of tactics, they have succeeded in expelling virtually all moderates; and as a consequence the party has seen its influence and membership dwindle to numbers that suggest borderline insignificance. I think a more accurate assessment of the current situation is that the wingnuts are devouring, as opposed to destroying, the party from within. And as a result they have a platform far larger than they deserve, and influence far out of proportion to the segment of the population they represent.
Arlen Specter is a mainstream Republican by any standards. Even as a Democrat, he will be a mainstream Republican. There is a substantial portion of the electorate that sympathizes with the mainstream Republican views of Senator Specter. In fact, as Senator Specter has realized, the Democratic party is more in sympathy with his brand of Republicanism than the Republican party as it is now constituted, under the control of its wingnut branch. So while they have certainly diminished the Republican party, the defection of Senator Specter being just another example, I contend the wingnuts are having enormous success.
My contention is based on the fact that an organization that espouses a philosophy that is shared by only a small portion of the electorate has 40 seats in the United States Senate and 178 seats in the House. And they are doing their best to insure that all those members of congress tow the party line. If you are willing to be useful to their agenda you may be welcome. If not, you should leave. And this is the important message that should be drawn from the current situation, not that the Republican party is in decline, but that as now constituted the Republican party is far out of proportion to the size of the constituency it represents.
Even if the wingnuts are now unsuccessful in every legislative effort they undertake, the consequences of their control of the Republican Party should not be underestimated. Foremost among these consequences is the belief that the values and opinions the wingnuts represent are in the mainstream. So now whenever their propoganda is not presented as a reasonable perspective by the media, they can cry media bias, and people actually listen. This is why the wingnuts will never let go of their deathgrip on the Republican party, even if it dooms that party to permanent minority status. Political success is not the most important part of their agenda. It is more important to stamp their agenda as a part of the American body politic, so that even if it is not enacted, it must always be dealt with.
Any moderation in the Republican agenda would be a death knell to the conservative movement in its current form. It would signal the acceptance, if not the embrace, of the legitimacy of certain tenets whose unequivical and absolute rejection are the foundation of the wingnut philosophy. The hint that their own party even tolerates the utterance of such ideas would mean that politics that requires complete and uncompromising adherence makes no sense. If this were to occur even their final few geographic and demographic strongholds would be vulnerable. People might realize it was alright to listen to ideas. We should not be willing to allow the wingnuts the comfort to continue to operate in this manner, just because they have become politically ineffective.