Over here? Or do you have a name doppelganger hanging around somewhere?

For me, it's become very much about the courts. If conservatives are busy making the Republican Party "pure", and they have the legislative and the executive branch together for much longer, I can look forward to a judicial heritage that will extend far beyond the people's interest in their doctrine.

For another take on party purity, from a known liberal columnist, read E.J. Dionne's Washington Post column. I daresay the same can be said of conservative Democrats.

Jake Javits was one of my Senators when I was growing up. I didn't always agree with him, but I never got the impression that his loyalty to his party was greater than his loyalty to the State of New York.