Big Tent Party?

Of the many important outcomes of November 4, this is one Republicans should ponder with great seriousness: there will not be a single Republican in the House of Representatives from New England when the new Congress assembles in January. Representative Christopher Shays of Connecticut, whose district in the southwest corner of that state included the New York suburbs and some of the wealthiest towns in the country, lost his bid for a twelfth term. He was a "Rockefeller Republican," a breed that many call dying but seems in fact dead.

The prevailing analysis among Republicans since the election has been that their defeat is attributable (besides to the financial crisis) to their abandonment of conservative principles. I say that the reason there is no longer a delegation of New England Republicans in the House is due to the party's embrace of conservative principles to a degree that moderates are no longer welcome. For Representative Shays and other New England Republicans, returning to their conservative roots is not a winning strategy.

For the first time since the G.O.P.'s early days in 1854 New England is without Republican representation in the House. The historical irony that the region that gave rise to the G.O.P. has now repudiated it must be addressed before additional election-losing ironies begin to appear.