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“Todd Tiahrt, definitely. He’s one of our own.”

True, Tiahrt is a bit better on the issues than Moran, but we shouldn’t ignore the fact that Moran is one of the rare Kansas Republicans that (i) is solidly conservative on both economic and social issues and (ii) is not hated by the RINO wing of the party that so often has given the margin of victory to the RAT candidate. I’d much rather have Jerry Moran as the nominee with a 90% chance of winning the general than Todd Tiahrt as the nominee if he only has a 60% chance of winning (and if Sebelius or Dennis Moore runs, it may be lower than 60% for Tiahrt).

Please note that I am pointedly NOT choosing sides with the RINOs, nor giving in to RINO threats, as some conservatives have done in KS-03 races. If Moran was not a conservative, I wouldn’t think twice about supporting his conservative challenger and taking my chances in the general. But with Moran being a solid, albeit not perfect, conservative, I think I’d rather have Moran as our Senate nominee and have Tiahrt stay in the House.

(And, no, I don’t think that this is inconsistent with my support for Herman Cain over Johnny Isakson in the 2004 GA Senate race, since Isakson had a liberal position on a central part of the conservative message (the right to life) and since Cain’s general-election prospects were just as good as Isakson’s.)