Sorry, but you misunderstand.
Anyone can vote for anyone in either party. The liberals in the democrat party have their big tent. Their entire consituency is based on groups with their hand out looking for something from the government that doesn't belong to them and that they haven't earned on their own. They all have their own demands, but their commonality is the "gimmee".
The liberals then turned to the GOP to give themselves a second bite at the apple. If they could commandeer the GOP and offer so called 'moderates' -- read: republicans who hold traditional democrat values and side with them a la Arlen Specter, Lincoln Chaffee, Olympia Snowe, Jim Jeffords, etal -- then liberalism wins every time.
The GOP should stand for the solid traditional value of small government, low taxes (not just smaller and lower than what the dems want), and more personal liberty. Those are the cornerstone ideals that bind us together. Our candidates should reflect those ideals and fight consistently for them.
Then, when a liberal ninny realizes that terrorism or welfare or government 'solutions' ARE the problem, they have a place to turn.
Our standards should be fixed and solid. Once they are, we may have a smaller tent, but it will be crowded with solid supporters, not those looking to undermine it.
The bottom line is that the party should accept the voters, but that the voters have to know that party won't compromise it's principles to get the voter. Right now, we bargain away a principle with each new supposed constituency that we try to cater to and with that lost principle are voters, the grassroots workers that assure the continued life of the principles behind the party, who won't return to a party that betrayed them.
And the liberals - the leftists - win again. Good plan, wasn't it? And 'we' help them do it when 'we' sacrifice our principles just to win.
Well said Badray........