It confuses me as well, C.L.
I hear this more and more, that we should vote for any Republican candidate, no matter how far to the left the candidate's record may be, so that we can regain majority control of congress and then control the legislation that makes it to the floor.
Looking at Specter, Graham, McCain, Snowe, Collins, et al, I would think *someone* in a leadership position would eventually stand up and shout, "STOP!"
If it were not for RINO's, the recent trillions-O'-dollars boondoggle would not have passed! Why elect a RINO when they have proven time and again they are unreliable when it really counts? Nominating and/or successfully electing RINO's has only served to pass the most egregious UN-conservative legislation in our nations history and to turn-off the conservative base -- which I think played no small part in electing a socialist POTUS while simultaneously granting him a majority in both houses.
The GOP needs to try something that they seem to only do after they have exhausted all other options: Run races by *BOLDLY* and *PROUDLY* wearing your conservative values on your sleeve! What a novel concept, eh? It has to be better than the squishy "compassionate conservatism" (that is actually, neither) that they seem to have been trying since Bush Sr.
In short, "with friends like the GOP, who needs enemies?"
I expect opinions will vary...
“Soooo...Conservatives should vote for this person because he’s the only one who can win?...”
When no electable true conservative will step up and run, yes.