Another GOP Civil War Brewing In 2012 - Hotline On Call

Another GOP Civil War Brewing In 2012 - Hotline On Call: "Just a week after Election Day, Republicans are already chomping at the bit to get the ball rolling for 2012 Senate contests.
And judging from the number of Republican contenders who have already floated their names out there, it looks like the GOP could be facing another busy and stressful, primary calendar -- both in races where they are challenging Democrats and in states where they will be defending seats.
The GOP faces a wide playing field in 2012, as 21 Democrats and two independents who caucus with Democrats are up for re-election. With only 10 Republican held seats up, that gives Republicans ample opportunity to win the seats necessary to gain a majority.
But there are early signs that the same intra-party feuds that limited huge pickups in the Senate in 2010 are re-emerging for 2012. Members who would be likely locks for re-election - Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar (R) and Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe (R) -- could well face serious primary challenges from Tea Party candidates. And Democratic members who look vulnerable - like Montana's Jon Tester - could benefit from ideologically divided Republican fields.
If crowded fields do, in fact, form, they will present the possibility of a sequel where candidates favored by the National Republican Senatorial Committee -- like those seen this year in Delaware, Kentucky, and Colorado - end up losing to less-electable candidates. In those states, establishment Republicans ran into problems as their endorsed candidates went down in primaries. Republicans believe they could have comfortably won the Colorado and Delaware Senate races if their favored candidates prevailed."