[BonnieJ]

In the last election (the one we lost) the Dems let go of their litmus test, and pro-life and fairly conservative candidates took over quite a few Republican seats.

[Wallace T.]

The Democrats will tolerate some deviation from lockstep liberalism in the South and in rural or blue collar Northern areas. However, that deviation is often rhetorical and not actual, and as the representatives become acclimated to the Washington scene, they tend to absorb liberal values in areas like social issues and national defense, against the overall sentiments of the majority of their constituents. Two good examples of this tendency are Congressman John Murtha and former Democratic Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, both from socially conservative districts, who were more politically moderate at the beginning of their careers.

OTOH, there is no countervailing conservative drift among moderate to liberal Republicans elected from the Northeast, the Upper Midwest, and California. If anything, exposure to the Washington milieu tends to move conservatives leftward, especially when a non-conservative Republican President is in office.