Conservative or Republican? Questioning the "Buckley Rule"

There's a concept in electoral politics popular in modern mainstream Republican circles called the "Buckley Rule." Postulated by William F. Buckley, founder of National Review magazine, it suggests Republican voters ought to support the most conservative candidate who can win. Tuesday's primary in which conservative Christine O'Donnell defeated liberal Mike Castle for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate seat in Delaware, Joe Biden's old seat, seems to question that rule.

Going by the Buckley Rule, a liberal Republican like Castle is the better Republican choice in a blue state such as Delaware. Castle has enjoyed a long political career in Delaware, serving as governor and as a nine-term United States congressman. A well established politician, his victory seemed all but assured. But he is, in mainstream parlance, a moderate. The conventional wisdom is that conservative Republicans can't win over independent or even some Democrat voters like a moderate Republican can. Incidentally, moderate John McCain didn't seem to have any luck winning those independent voters in 2008. But I digress.

Democrats also have a rule: Elect the most liberal candidate.

The modern Democrat party is unabashedly leftist and feverishly ideological. It bears more similarity to European Social Democrats than to the traditional American Democrat party. The party has long ago excised moderate and conservative Democrats from their ranks. They support, vote for and often elect, occasionally dubiously, their most liberal candidates. How else can you explain Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters, Bernie Sanders, and dozens of others who identify as liberal or even socialist? How do you explain Al Franken's election to the Senate? Or even the election of President Barack Obama, who as a Senator was known as having the most liberal voting record of all?

Leftism (progressivism in polite company) is predicated on radical and often revolutionary progress. The only way for Democrats to achieve their ultimate endgame is to elect leftists using, as hero of the left Saul Alinsky was so fond of advocating, whatever means necessary. The ends justify the means.

The choice Delaware voters faced was between a true conservative Republican who would always vote Republican, and a liberal Republican who had often voted with Democrats. Castle supported the Democrats' massive energy taxation scheme "cap and trade." Republicans in Delaware chose conservatism, rather than Republicanism. Principle versus Party. As a result, the mainstream media talks about a civil war within the Republican party. The tea party versus the establishment. The Democrat civil war happened years ago. Their base is pure leftism, they've kicked their moderates and conservatives to the curb. Conservative Republicans just want to be recognized as the base of the Republican party and showed it in their primary votes.

O'Donnell may or may not be the best candidate, time will tell come November. She will certainly have a much steeper climb to pull out a victory. But she is now the Republican candidate, and the party must support her as vigorously as they would support Castle. There is wide agreement of the danger the Obama administration poses to the future of a constitutional, free America. Our endgame is a return to liberty, freedom and constitutionally limited government. Our argument is over the means to achieve it.

Democrats have no such argument.