Republicans say they're for the aforementioned, yet supported Saddam with weapons and cash in the eighties, government size and powers have historically expanded under conservatives, conservatives pork is a runaway elephant compared to the backpack donkey pork of Democrats. Liberals have too many ideas, they are frequently too hard on their own, but liberals don't crush their own. If liberals pushed for the kind of idealogical purity that neo-con conservatives push for, there wouldn't be a Democratic party. As recent events have shown, Democrats represent a fairly deverse contingent of the American people; from Dean liberals, to middle ground of Wesley Clark, Dick Gephart, and John Kerry, to the rightist foreign policies of Joe Leiberman. Occassionally you'll hear a hypocritical conservative talk about the lack of civil political discourse on the left; to those I would suggest you look at your own party first. In the current incarnation of conservatism ideaologic purity has become more important then respecting any Republican that dares deviant from the Whitehouse and theocratic right's script. McCain is a party man to be sure, yet is at odds with Republican theocrats. We will probably not see the likes of McCain again, if the Republican party keeps pushing hard right. Finally, you know that the Republican party is full throttle hard right when Arlen Specter of all people isn't considered conservative enough. Where are some future centrist Democrats going to come from? The disenfrenchised moderate Republicans. The GOP Hunts its Own.