Virginia GOP cedes the middle ground

U.S. SEN. JOHN WARNER was absent in both body and in spirit from the state Republican convention this past weekend.

It's probably best that he was not there to witness a tense stand off between his party's right wing and far-right wing. It led to a surly pessimism settling over the Richmond convention hall as partisans pondered the battles they face this fall, for the presidency, and for Warner's Senate seat.

In the end, the party offered a sharp contrast to Warner, a centrist who has served Virginia with integrity and grace for three decades. Instead, loyalists debated the merits of former Gov. Jim Gilmore, a rough-and-tumble tax-cutter, and Del. Bob Marshall, the favored son of social conservatives.

The nomination fight quickly dissolved into a squabble over pregnancy trimesters, birth control and gay marriage, issues seldom front and center in the U.S. Senate.

Gilmore clawed together a bare majority to secure the nomination. He now faces a popular and well-funded opponent in former Democratic Gov. Mark Warner. At the same time, Gilmore must try to patch the internal rift within his own party, a task for which he is ill-equipped. He spent most of his gubernatorial term sparring with fellow Republicans while Democrats watched from the sidelines in bemusement.

The GOP's choice for party chairman is also an unlikely peacemaker. Del. Jeff Frederick of Prince William County applauded and cheered as Republican-authored regional transportation plans for Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia were defeated in a House committee two years ago. He has mailed fundraising letters into the districts of GOP legislators criticizing them for their votes on taxes. And he has even attacked House Speaker Bill Howell for sponsoring last year's transportation package.

All in all, the state GOP over the weekend cemented the party's move farther to the right, even as Virginians are moving toward the center.

Starting with Mark Warner's gubernatorial victory in 2001, Democrats have found repeated success with centrist candidates. Most recently, Jim Webb wrested the title of Junior Senator away from conservative titan George Allen.

Webb and John Warner have proved to be a powerful team. Republicans could have offered another centrist successor to John Warner and made a strong case that a bipartisan balance should be preserved. Instead, the party settled for a tired replay of settled squabbles over marginal social issues.

Once so attuned to the mood of Virginia's electorate, the GOP's hard rightward shift over the weekend inspires no confidence that the party has learned the lessons of several recent election defeats, or that it has any intention of correcting its course back toward the state's growing practical middle.