The Purity Purge Continues

Charlie Crist's decision to jump into the Florida Senate race threatens to open a deeper rift between the party's conservative base and leadership in DC. NRSC Chair John Cornyn's endorsement of Crist (the Obama hugger) over conservative Marco Rubio has enflamed the base. Red State's Erick Erickson is urging party donors to withhold funds (@ Not One Red Cent) from the NRSC.

In the past, most party committees stayed on the sidelines in primary fights. After losing over a dozen seats in the past two elections (and the possibility of losing 3-5 more in 2010), Cornyn finds himself in desperate circumstances, so he chose to back the popular moderate governor who has a substantial lead in early polls. But by rejecting a young conservative Hispanic did he risk further alienating a critical voting bloc?