I remember the Talent-McCaskill election too. Those who stayed home so that McCaskill could win did alot of damage to all of us. When given a choice of voting for someone who would be with us 80% of the time, they allowed someone who would be with us 0% of the time to take office. What stupidity. No wonder we are losing this war.
I can see this debate from both sides, but your post actually lends support to the "purist" argument. We aren't losing the war because we don't support the guy who supports us 80% of the time. We're losing the war because we've long considered an "80% conservative" an acceptable candidate when his opponent is a "100% liberal."
Conceding 20% of the conservative agenda over and over again -- to a leftist movement that is 100% in lockstep on every major issue -- is why we're losing the war.
The “purists” were primarily in SW Missouri, around Springfield. They took issue with Talent’s support for certain medical research.