Republicans want a smaller tent

Whether he coined it or not, Mark Shields was the first person I knew of to say that "Politics is about addition, not subtraction." I've tried, not always successfully, to practice that.

Democrats, if they can stop their own internal bloodletting long enough to pay attention, should be encouraged by this report from the Capital Times:

GOP FAITHFUL WOULD BAR HELP FOR MODERATES:

Are moderates being frozen out of the Republican Party of Wisconsin? It appears a large majority of party delegates would like exactly that, according to a nonbinding resolution passed at last weekend's state convention in Appleton.

Resolution 25 urged the GOP "to withhold all promotional and financial support of those candidates that do not consistently subscribe to this overall conservative agenda, be they incumbent or new candidates." It also urges the party to "actively and vigorously" seek out candidates for office who "will go in this conservative direction, and respect the wishes of party members."

"I have worked hard to raise the conservative voice," convention chair and state Sen. Cathy Stepp, R-Sturtevant, told the delegates... "We should never apologize for our conservative agenda." From the speech by Stepp to the prominent booths of pro-life groups, the Appleton convention was a conservative's paradise. It was a paradise with no prominent moderate elected officials, such as former state Sens. Mary Panzer and Peggy Rosenzweig, both previously defeated by more conservative Republicans.

That right-wing extremist base is not enough to elect statewide candidates, which is something the GOP has yet to figure out, despite losing most statewide and Presidential elections -- Tommy Thompson being the exception that proves the rule -- for 20 years. So, let the purge continue. Keep shrinking that tent and kicking out any voices of moderation. It's bound to pay off for someone. I'm betting it's the Democrats.

UPDATE: Apparently Rep. Mark Green attended a different convention. Asked about a report that ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a moderate, will campaign for him, Green's campaign manager told WisPolitics:

"We're a big tent," he said. "We are not the Democrats -- we do not penalize people for having different thoughts."

Tell it to Panzer and Rosenzweig.