Marc Thiessen of the Washington Post has written an excellent Op Ed titled “Jim DeMint’s courage and Lisa Murkowski’s betrayal.”  I highly recommend you read the whole piece. 

Thiessen wrote in the Post yesterday:

The knives were out for Jim DeMint in the Senate last week, as Republicans laid into the South Carolina senator for supporting Tea Party favorite Christine O’Donnell over Rep. Mike Castle in Delaware’s Republican primary and endangering the GOP’s chances of taking control of the Senate in November.  Wonder if Sen. Lisa Murkowski will get the same treatment this week?

There seems to be a double standard.  When the establishment loses a team member in a primary, then fails to endorse the winning candidate or runs a sour grapes write in campaign, there seems to be muted criticism.  These same establishment types said that Marco Rubio could not win a primary, Pat Toomey could not win a primary against Arlen Specter and Mike Lee could not win a convention against Senator Bennett (R-UT).  They were all wrong.

Although the Senator Murkowski has resigned her leadership position, her long shot bid to write her way back into the Senate is dividing the different elements of the party.  This issue, that has sparked a national debate, has divided party elements as liberals cheer from the sidelines.  Murkowski is dividing a party that she once lead.  

Thiessen further argues that Murkowski’s actions may put the GOP majority in jeopardy.

The Alaska senator lost the Republican primary to her Tea Party-backed challenger, Joe Miller, in a fair fight. But instead of graciously conceding and endorsing the Republican nominee, Murkowski announced Friday that she will continue her campaign as an independent write-in candidate. Polls showed Miller — a West Point grad with a Bronze Star and a Yale law degree — leading Democrat Scott McAdams by six to eight points. Now Murkowski has thrown the race into disarray. Where is the outcry at Murkowski for putting a Republican seat — and the Republican majority — at risk?

The Washington Post is populated with liberals and it is great to see a solid conservative writing for the Post.  Three cheers to the Post and Thiessen for standing up to squishes.  This fight will continue into November and beyond.  When Tea Party Senators are seated, it will be interesting to see how these new exciting members mesh with the establishment leaders.