When the GOP had control of the WH and Congress, fissures occurred in the Party over issues like immigration, government spending, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Divisions in the Party aren’t always bad because a Party that stands for something is by nature going to cause some strong disagreements. And what’s the use of belonging to a political party that doesn’t stand for something (or tries to stand for everything)?

Whether it’s healthy is one question, but what influence peddlers do in response can be quite interesting. Filmmaker Michael Moore as reported in Politico:

“To the Democrats in Congress who don’t quite get it: I want to offer a personal pledge. I – and a lot of other people – have every intention of removing you from Congress in the next election if you stand in the way of health care legislation that the people want,” Moore told supporters of women’s groups and unions gathered at the headquarters of the government watchdog group Public Citizen. “That is not a hollow or idle threat. We will come to your district and we will work against you, first in the primary and, if we have to, in the general election.”

Moore issued a not-so-veiled warning to Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and an opponent of the so-called public option, though not by name, asserting that his movie could be a rallying point for people across the country – including in Montana – to work to defeat Democrats who opposed the public option.

“You’ve made a serious mistake,” he warned Baucus.

Mr. Moore’s “pledge” didn’t influence Chairman Max Baucus and four other Democrats on the Senate Finance Cmte, who last week joined Republicans on the committee to shoot down the ‘public option’ on a 8-15 vote.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27703.html#ixzz0SWqnTcm0