In 2002, Hawaii elected its first Republican governor in 40 years. Linda Lingle has done her best to cast herself as a progressive, advocating such worthy causes as cutting taxes on the poor, building housing for the homeless, and increasing funding for preschools. She's stolen the high ground right out from under state Democrats, who after decades of entrenched power and one-party rule are rather ineffective and some even corrupt. Governor Lingle's approval ratings are high, she's talking liberal causes in a blue state...she really seems unbeatable in 2006 when she runs for re-election. And some may wonder what the big deal is, and focus on unseating more obnoxious targets like Santorum and DeLay.
But Lingle is just as bad as the aforementioned targets, and this likely holds true for other so-called moderate Republicans holding office in blue states...
The problem is that politicians do not just serve their position and then disappear. They move from governorships to the Senate, and vice versa. Both of Hawaii's Senators are 81 years old. Once one of them retires, the obvious GOP candidate is Lingle, who by then will probably have finished her second term as governor to high approval ratings. Once in the Senate, expect her to fall in line with the GOP caucus just like Lincoln Chafee learned to. And Frist will have one more vote to remain majority leader.
I bring this up because I have read comments here from people who have voted for moderate Republicans in the past, like Arlen Specter and Michael Bloomberg.
However, look past their moderate positions, and see that they continue to fundraise for other Republicans. Lingle campaigned hard for Bush in Hawaii, and Gore's 18% win in 2000 was reduced to Kerry's 9% win last year. We had to spend money here that could have gone to Ohio and Florida after polls indicated Hawaii would be close (which thankfully, it really wasn't, but that may not be the case in the future).
Worst of all, these "moderate" Republicans give cover to the radical wingers that control the party. We do our best to show the average American how far off the edge the Republicans have gone, and they respond by trotting out their token moderates. The GOP has become the majority party not just because of the large number of reactionaries and evangelicals, but because of the equal support of average families who can't see how radical the party they vote for has become. Every time Tom DeLay opens his mouth, truly moderate Americans recoil. When Bill Frist suggests that AIDS can be spread by tears, average Americans scratch their heads. But we can't beat these wingers when they are supported by so many "moderate" Republicans in blue states. For instance, without the support of Chafee, Specter, Snowe, and Collins, the effective Republican majority in the Senate is 51 votes, just close enough that a couple of other loose cannons like McCain or Hagel can tip the balance. But with those 4 "moderate" GOP Senators voting with Frist the vast majority of the time, we are faced with a depressing 55-45 split in the Senate.
I will never even consider voting for a Republican until their national leadership is replaced by moderates. If that ever happens (which I seriously doubt), then I will vote for each candidate on their own specific merits. But until then, a vote for any moderate Republican is a vote for DeLay and Frist.