And just what's wrong with that? We are talking primaries after all, and why shouldn't I vote for the one candidate who best fits my values? And it the elites don't like it, that's tough, IMO.
What's wrong with it, is that too many of us try to judge a candidate through the lens of a few litmus-test issues, and we demand conformance on them; when in fact we should be trying to find a person whose overall values provide a best fit to the solution of myriad issues, most of which have little to do with our litmus test values.
As a result, we end up with several candidates who are attractive on certain issues, and poor candidates overall. We end up having a very poor selection. If you look at McCain's campaign, he quite ably took advantage of that dynamic: his strategy was just to stay in long enough so that he could be the last guy standing.
I blame the GOP for this, as much as I blame the primary voters; a serious national party would be out there recruiting a set of good, general-purpose candidates. But that requires a kind of foresight and dedication that the GOP lacks.
And here's how it turns out: Suppose Ronald Reagan was running for president today. Let's apply a few of the litmus test issues that I have actually seen FReepers apply to discount a potential candidate.
Reagan was a former Democrat (used against Rick Perry)Reagan was a former pro-abort who actually signed the Therapeutic Abortion law in California.
Reagan endorsed Truman for president and campaigned for him. (Used against anybody except Palin who supported McCain)
Reagan was soft on homosexuality: he joined Harvey Milk in opposing Proposition 6 (a 1978 California initiative that would have made it "legal for teachers to be fired if it were known they were gay or lesbian. A teacher could also be fired for publicly supporting homosexuality." (source) )
And if we cheat a little bit and look at his record as president ... signed the Immigration Reform Act of 1986 which granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.
Presided over a huge increase in federal spending and deficits.
The man was a RINO!!!!