But all of their constituency doesn't think like you. I'm not saying that Republicans wouldn't have been better off had they not done some of their core things, such as cutting spending, that they have failed to do, but merely saing something akin to "Ahh! This guy isn't Tom Coburn! If we had run Tom Coburn in every race, we'd win every race," is silly.
You have got it backwards. I owe the Republican party nothing. No candidate they have is automatically entitled to my vote. They work for me, not the other way around.
For the record, I voted for Trent Lott on Nov. 7.
That's fine, and I'm glad you voted for Lott, but those who want to "teach the GOP a lesson" should just admit that they'd rather see the D's in power then compromise. For whatever reason, you'd rather get 0% of what you want then 50%.
That's fine. Maybe there are good reasons for doing that. Sometimes, there are. But should you chose to do that, you should admit to what you are doing and explain why you are doing it and why you think it will accomplish your goal, not just complain that the Republicans "didn't represent me" or whatever. Nobody is a perfect representation for another person. We are individuals. No 2 people, even approaching a problem from a similar mindslet, see the same solution to a problem, or prioritize problems in the same way.
It seems to me to be rational to vote for the guy who most closely resembles your views, even if he's way off on some times. If you don't buy this, fine, but be honest about it and give good reasons with solid logic behind them.
Maybe it's not about teaching the GOP a lesson. I'm not even sure what that "lesson" is supposed to be.
Maybe it's more about hiring or not hiring someone for a job. Several of the Dems ran center/right in these races. All politics is local. Given Congress' dismal approval ratings, you really think the average voter cares (or even knows) which party controls it or what that means?
Still, personally, I don't like to give the impression that my vote is a given to any candidate.