Abstract

The GOP Hunts Its Own

The author reports on efforts of some right-wing Republicans to drive the moderates in the party from political office. When George W. Bush asked Congress for the authority to attack Iraq, New York Congressman Arno Houghton voted no. One of the last of the dying breed of moderate--some would even say "liberal"--Republicans in Congress, Houghton won't be seeking re-election this fall. Other members of what could be the most endangered species in American politics are also being hunted down by fellow Republicans as the party's more frenzied conservatives pursue the ideological cleansing of Congress with primary challenges to New York's Sherwood Boehlert, Maryland's Wayne Gilchrest and other members of the House and Senate who refuse to read verbatim from the right's playbook. The top target this year is Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. But in a closely divided Senate, Specter's tendency to side with liberals on social issues, as well as his willingness to challenge the worst excesses of the right on judicial nominations, tax cuts, the minimum wage, school choice and tort reform, has made him a Republican that Democrats can deal with. That's why the radical right is pulling out all the stops to get rid of Specter, who faces an April 27 primary challenge from conservative Congressman Pat Toomey. If they can take out a veteran senator, Club for Growth boss Stephen Moore predicts a "political earthquake" that will force Republicans from the White House on down to avoid even the slightest deviation from the right's agenda.