Gunky, being relatively liberal myself, I generally agree with most of your positions on the issues in your last few posts. That said, I don't think ALL Republicans are as far right as you suggest. However, the fact of the matter is that there are very few "moderate Republicans" anymore. The Republican Party has been hijacked by the religious right and especially the Tea Party. As society as a whole is getting more liberal..for example, gay marriage, MJ decrimilization....the Republicans seem to be moving more and more to the right.. I think that's a losing strategy for them... There are many Democrats that can find common ground with a moderate Republican and vice versa, but with the rightward shift of the Republican Party finding common ground is difficult if not impossible!