REPUBLICANS, we are told, respect authority and expect conformity. On the one hand, that spurs them to greater discipline than Democrats. "Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican," Ronald Reagan said, in what has been dubbed the 11th commandment. On the other hand, people who expect conformity often punish those who deviate. That's why we've seen so many high-profile primary fights on the right this year, with moderate incumbents like Dick Lugar being challenged by tea-party voters who are willing to bin decades of experience in the name of ideological purity. 

I was starting to see it that way myself, but looking at the race for Texas's 16th congressional district, in El Paso, I'm wondering. El Paso is a heavily Democratic city—more Democratic than liberal Austin—and so the race will effectively be decided in the primary on May 29th. In a slightly unusual turn of events, however, it's turning into a serious contest between two Democrats. The incumbent, Silvestre Reyes, has been in office for more than 15 years, and has held influential positions in the House, most recently as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He is, in fact, the most prominent politician in El Paso (a region that never sends a candidate to statewide office, much less...

MITT ROMNEY'S campaign site has a simple statement of principle at the top: "We have a moral responsibility not to spend more than we take in." If Mr Romney actually believes this, he must think America a thoroughly depraved and immoral country. The US government has spent more than it has taken in for 76 of the past 100 years, and 26 of the past 30. The last five Republican presidents, Messrs Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush and Bush, have all violated this putative moral responsibility with joyful abandon, and they have plenty of company. There are almost no countries in the world whose governments spend, on the whole, less than they take in; the ones that come close to breaking even are mostly oil-rich authoritarian...