Sen. John Warner blasts Va. GOP

This story from the Richmond Times Dispatch (http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2007-11-08-0206.html) is very interesting and I believe sums up the problem with the "Christian Taliban" controled Republican Party of Virginia. Fortunately, I do NOT expect RVP to get the message and, hopefully, the Party will suffer more loses in future elections until the Party returns to its former values. Here are a few highlights:

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va. sharply criticized the Virginia GOP yesterday as rigid and intolerant of moderation. "The rigidity of this outfit is going to keep taking it down until they hit bottom. And I don't know when that will be," Warner said of Tuesday's election results. "And I find it quite distressing." The election resulted in important gains for Democrats. The fifth-term senator said he was saddened but not surprised. The late political adviser Lee Atwater, a friend of Warner, espoused a "big-tent" philosophy of inclusiveness for the GOP, Warner said. But the Republican Party of Virginia has "just strayed away from that concept and become intolerant of those members that express even a modest amount of moderation."

Warner, 80, a moderate-to-conservative Republican, is not running for re-election next year. He did not appear on the campaign trail for state legislative candidates. He made some endorsements and contributions, a Warner aide said. Warner deferred comment yesterday when asked his opinion of the presumed candidacy of Gilmore to succeed him. Gilmore has asked to call on him, Warner said, and "I've decided to wait until he comes up to visit."

Personally, I cannot think of two politicians more incompatible in their approaches than Gilmore and Warner. If Gilmore is the candidate against Mark Warner in 2008, I predict a Gilmore massacre. Even if that happens, I doubt the Christian Talibanistas will figure it out.