The real analog of PETA on the right would be someone like David Duke, who has indeed been denounced by Republicans. Buchanan, Robertson and Falwell (Buchanan actually falls into a different category than Robertson and Falwell) are not as far down the kook scale, falling somewhere in that same area that Cynthia McKinney does in the Democratic Party. These people are, face it, not ones you would want in any real position of power in the Party, but they do represent large constituencies that include many people who would be considered quite reasonable in most of their views. No smart politician is going to kick them completely out the door.

Politics over principle? Yeah, what else is new.