Reverse Carpetbaggers

Commentary By Ron Beasley

New Yorker DougJ at Balloon Juice suggested it first:

What happened in NY-23 is that a bunch of confederate pukes came in and
told a perfectly nice, socially moderate, Republican Albany hack (and I
mean that affectionately) to go get bent.

Megan McArdle seems to agree although as usual her writing is so disjointed it's hard to tell.  What Dick Armey and the Freedom Works folks don't realize is that most Republicans north of the Mason Dixon line don't want to be Texans or Alabamans.  

But if the south wants to keep its northern Republicans--and the
congressional seats that come with them--it's going to have to back off
trying to make the northern party look like a miniature version of
itself.

But they won't because the Confederate Republicans are just as uncompromising as the Taliban.

Update:

Armey's army won't listen but Lindsey Graham gets it.

The morning after Republicans lost an upstate New York House seat,
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned that conservative activists will
bring destruction to the Republican Party if they drive out moderate
candidates across the country.

�To those people who are pursuing purity, you�ll become a club not a
party,� Graham told POLITICO in the Capitol Wednesday. �Those people
who are trying to embrace conservatism in a thoughtful way that fits
the region and the state and the district are going to do well.
Conservativism is an asset. Blind ideology is not.�