As Republicans begin debating the future of the party, it is worth noting that some in the party are already trying to rewrite the past. In recent weeks, several members of the more conservative wing of the GOP have stated that the reason the party failed so miserably this election is because it turned its back on fiscal discipline by turning toward the political center. Perhaps conservative stalwart L.

To fully understand the  importance of centrist Republican candidates in the 2008 elections, it is  important to take a look at the results of this year’s hard fought  Republican primaries and see how these candidates performed in the general  election.  It is in primaries,  after all, where the voters must choose the candidate that best represents  their own positions on the issues, the District at large, and the chances  for victory in November.  Their performance in the fall is, therefore,  a good indication of the types of Republicans