Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic asks for an explanation:

The GOP has basically been eliminated from the Northeast by the purists so there aren’t many great examples.

Contrast that with how Democrats treat people like Mark Prior, Jon Tester, and Ben Nelson.  These Senators aren’t anywhere near ideal for Democrats, as a quick glance at the Netroots sites will affirm.

But they don’t have to fear primaries by party mutilators like Pat Toomey.

Why do Dems treat their Dogs differently

Is it a function of power? Or party traditions?

The difference, such that there is, is explained by the different manner in which Republicans and Democrats secure votes.  Democrats do not have a cohesive ideology; rather, they are a party existing purely to win power.  They do so by launching money at key interest groups and voting blocs.  Essentially, they bribe enough constituencies to vote for them until they have a majority.  This tactic requires little ideological conformity from party members, beyond a simple willingness to go along to get along.

Republicans win by representing an ideology.  Specifically, one of small government and fiscal restraint.  They lose when they do not represent this ideology or try to be like Democrats.  When they hurl money at constituency groups, they bleed ideological support while gaining little new adherents.  Those receiving this largesse are thankful, no doubt, but they know they could always get even more if Democrats were in power.

Because the Republican party has to sell itself ideologically, it must, on the whole, convincingly represent that ideology. Party members such as Lincoln Chafee, Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins consistently undermine that image. This costs the party more seats than they provide.  Cutting out enough of these miscreants, such that the party can once again be seen as representative of the small government ideology, is necessary to its regaining majority status.

But so long as the media trots out only liberals, who treat the parties as two sides of the same coin, to explain the significance of events within the Republican party, they will reach conclusions that are 180 degrees off.  But that’s fine by me, as it means the liberals will, once again, be taken completely by surprise when they are booted out of office.

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