Primary battles are never pretty

Primary battles—the political equivalent of internecine warfare—are rarely very pretty affairs because they tend to divide party advocates into camps that will have to unite once a candidate is eventually chosen.

Michelle Malkin weighs in on the Delaware Senate race, where long-time party insider Mike Castle faces Tea Party (and Palin endorsee) Christine O’Donnell, and has a bit of advice for the “family:”

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This isn’t “Main Street.” This is the road to progressive hell. We already have one too many shady Soros Republicans in the Senate — and John McCain doesn’t need any more company.

As I noted a few weeks ago, the stakes are raised — not just for Delaware, but for the nation — in this race because this is a special election for VP Joe Biden’s Senate seat. The next Senator from Delaware will serve the remaining four years of Biden’s term. Which means he or she will be seated immediately after election and will be in place to vote in any lame duck Senate session. Cap-and-tax is on the table for this session. From his record and from his radical enviro associations, we know what Castle would do in the name of “Republican Main Street” values to screw over not only Delawareans, but all taxpayers.

Nine terms are enough.

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Guess what? You can be a “TRUE CONSERVATIVE,” a blogger behind a keyboard, a talk show host behind a mic, a prime-time TV host in front of a camera, a Beltway pundit, or a heartland Tea Party activist and come to different, good-faith conclusions about this race. I know people in both the Castle camp and the O’Donnell camp. I’m not going to deride or disown my friends in the blogosphere or anywhere else because we disagree. That’s, well, unhinged.

Everyone get a grip. Take a deep breath. Fight your best fight. Make your best arguments. Wait for the votes to be counted. Then march on and move forward.

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The race has gotten pretty ugly, with both candidates slinging razor-sharp barbs, GOP’ers taking sides, the blogosphere animated and talkers weighing in.  It’s gotten so bad on Twitter that I’ve quarantined the “#DESEN” hashtag and both candidates’ last names to keep the signal-to-noise level respectable. 

Ms. Malkin’s advice to “get a grip” ought to be heeded.  It’s just a primary.  The future of the free world is not at stake. It’s just control of the Senate.