Win the Winnable

Steven Law, the president of the most influential of the super-PACs, American Crossroads, is considering how to get involved in choosing candidates. Law says he favors a “holistic” approach, starting with vetting potential candidates to find the one who best meets the Buckley rule, then talking to other independent-expenditure PACs and Republicans about supporting the candidate jointly in the primary.

This won’t work everywhere. More than one Republican officeholder with conservative credentials is likely to run in North Carolina. The Club for Growth may insist on backing candidates whose electability is questioned by other Republicans. In that event, American Crossroads—or a subsidiary with less of an establishment tinge—might fund primary candidates of their own liking. Though primary fights can be invigorating, they usually aren’t. But they are sometimes necessary

Republicans should never forget 2010 and 2012. Had they acted wisely, they might control the Senate today. Harry Reid would be gone and President Obama contained. Now there’s a way to expunge the memory of two bad Senate outcomes. Prevent a third.