Unity?

Jim Geraghty has some thoughts on how the Delaware GOP Senate race will end tonight:

This evening, in the state of Delaware somebody will win the GOP primary, and declare something like, “And now, I ask for all Republicans to unite behind my candidacy.” At that moment, across the state, across the blogosphere, and across the country you will hear supporters of the other candidate wholeheartedly and loudly respond, “[your favorite expletive here]!”

It’s hard to begrudge them. If you’re a Christine O’Donnell supporter, you will have just seen a woman who stands for you and your values absolutely trashed, six ways to Sunday by an opposing campaign, a state party, and a lot of voices who you once thought of as reliable allies. And for who? A fossil who voted the right way barely half the time?

If you’re a Mike Castle supporter, you will have just seen a man who’s spent his career serving Delaware – with nary a peep of serious objection from the state’s GOP grassroots – rejected for daring to deviate from conservative orthodoxy and the chances of a GOP majority in the Senate seem to go up in flames. You’ve watched the opposition misrepresent his record. And for who? A freelance publicist who has never held office before?

I’d like to say I see a good chance of reconciliation, but I would be lying. Everybody feels like they’ve been stabbed in the back. O’Donnell supporters feel like the establishment went after their candidate personally, trying to destroy her reputation. Castle supporters feel like they’ve been demonized for accepting a more moderate choice in a heavily Democratic state.

There's more at the link.

Certainly the language that's been thrown around among conservatives lately is going to leave some bad feelings, and I'm sure this won't be the last ideological fight between the purists and the pragmatists. However, I hope we can get through future battles without the name-calling I've seen in this race. I'm used to liberals doing that stuff to their opposition, but I'm not used to conservatives sinking to that level. We don't have to be happy with each other, but we can be civil about it.

However, don't expect the media to be very civil should O'Donnell win.  Just take a look at this item on the website for KFI-640 in Los Angeles:

You can imagine what kind of stuff will be running in Delaware.