David Harsanyi strikes the right chord in the Hoffman/Scozzafava debacle:

Purging moderates is indeed a self-destructive strategy for any national party. But running a party without any litmus tests on the central issue of the economy seems to be similarly self-defeating.

The most impressive trick played by…liberals, though, is creating a narrative wherein the ones attempting to fundamentally reconfigure the American economy are cast as the moderates.

The nearly powerless who stand in their way? Well, they play the part of Stalinists.

Now, I’m not nearly as smart as Frank Rich, but I do know that the single ideological bond that holds together all factions of the right is a belief in capitalism and economic freedom. Or, at least, it should be.

In fact, as Arthur C. Brooks, American Enterprise Institute president, summed it up, “there is a major cultural schism developing in America. But it’s not over abortion, same-sex marriage or home schooling, as important as these issues are. The new divide centers on free enterprise—the principle at the core of American culture.”

The next few elections will tell us whether this tenant of American culture has staying power—and whether there will be a political party to champion it.

If the Republican Party wants to be the party that champions it, and I think they can be, they’re going to have to care more about the candidates they run in elections.