Coalition-Bulding 101... or The Lessons of IL-14

Jim Oberweis lost, but there are two lessons to be learned here:
1. Do not piss off large chunks of the primary electorate of your party by firing off nasty anything about your opponent. If you piss off people who largely agree with you because of some purity test or personal cheap shot, you have nobody but yourself to blame for losing. Mike Huckabee should bear this in mind for 2012 - and then act accordingly.

2. A hard-line policy on immigration does not win elections. In GOP primaries, like one in the third congressional district of Utah or the eighth congressional district of Arizona, the hard-line position usually cannot top 45% when it is faced with those favoring a more comprehensive approach (in Arizona 8, the only reason the hardliner won was because it was a first-across the line approach). This has even been the case in the 2008 presidential race.

3. The talk-radio hosts and major conservative media outlets have proven that they are largely out of touch with a large part of the Republican Party and the American public. If the GOP heeds their siren song, it will not go well.