Clint Didier’s non-endorsement of Dino Rossi is an embarrassment to the Republican Party. A few days before the election, he said on the radio that if he lost (which, by then, he knew he would) he would endorse Rossi. Then Didier won one-quarter of the Republican vote for U.S. Senate, compared with three-quarters for Rossi. Didier should endorse Rossi. It is how parties work.

Suddenly Didier’s got conditions, the most onerous of which is to sign on to an anti-abortion bill favored by Rep. Ron Paul. Paul endorsed Didier, but Paul is from Texas, and we are not in Texas. Paul's bill is symbolic only, because it's not going to pass. Rossi was wise to refuse to do it, saying he would not be dictated to by anyone. If he had done otherwise, he would have been flayed.

Abortion is a dangerous issue for Republicans. This is a pro-abortion state. Washington was one of four states (the others were Hawaii, Alaska and New York) that legalized abortions 40 years ago, before the decision in Roe v. Wade. Washington is one of a handful of states that don’t require a parent’s permission, or even notification, when a teenager gets an abortion. It pays for abortions with public money.

Abortion unites Democrats. It divides Republicans. That is why, in Washington, the left likes to talk about abortion and the right—the practical right—does not. Republicans typically say, 'Sorry, but abortion has been taken over by the Supreme Court and I can't do anything about it.' Look at Rossi’s web page: it is about jobs, spending, taxes and defense. Those are the issues Rossi wants to talk about--and, in fact, all of them are more under the control of the U.S. Senate than is abortion.

Somebody needs to tell Clint Didier that he lost. Probably the Eltopia farmer could be elected to the House if a seat opened up. Not the Senate. And even being elected to the House might require some help from the Republican Party.