This is perhaps what you and your Republican friends fail to understand about the Democratic Party. The GOP wants to paint the Dems with a broad brush when no brush broad enough to encompass the variety of opinions, beliefs and thoughts within the tent exists. Your post is emblematic of both the GOP’s misunderstanding of who the Democrats are, and simultaneously, wishful thinking that we could be painted so simply for the purposes of (negative) campaigning.

I think you’re right in what the Democrats have done in the recent past, running folks like Jim Webb, but now that they have a bit of control and feel they can weed out the more Conservative elements, expect to see a weening out of the “moderates” more and more.

If anything the Democratic Party has gone out of its way in the past few election cycles to run moderate/ conservative/ blue dog Democratic Candidates – this is part of the reason why the only Iraq war veteran in the House is a Democrat – and undoubtly why the Democratic Party will continue to win elections nationally.