In his current Slate column, William Saletan, who says he's "less a New Democrat than a liberal Republican," declares that he is reluctantly voting for the Democrat, Chris Van Hollen, in the House race in his Maryland district rather than fellow Republican Connie Morella, a moderate. Saletan says he agonized over this decision, and finally came to this conclusion:

... my vote for Morella wouldn't help fill Congress with Republicans like her. It would just reassure or embolden the right-wingers who use their control of the House to limit the number and influence of Republicans like her. I don't really want Democrats to run the House, but the only way to push Republicans back to the center is to shake them up.

In a word: Duh.

Saletan is a nationally bylined political writer. He thinks about politics for a living. It took him this long to figure that out?