The strong possibility that Alaska's Republican U.S. Senator, Lisa Murkowski has lost renomination in a staggering upset has given me a lot to think about. Perhaps that's because Senator Murkowski was the first Republican elected official I met who I actually liked as a person.
Before I go any further, let me make clear that I don't agree with Senator Murkowski on pretty much any issue; apart from (maybe) a women's right to choose, which may in part have cost her renomination, I couldn't find any votes she took in which I would have agreed with her.
Rather, I'm writing this diary because I'm troubled by the ease in which an essentially reasonable, nice person can be purged out of office because her opponents felt she was...well, too reasonable.
More under the fold.