Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal editorial joined what has become a chorus at National Review whose voices rise to the inescapable, effective endorsement for elevating longtime congressman (and before that, governor, lieutenant governor, etc.) Mike Castle as the Delaware Republican nominee for Senate. This was joined by Team Pawlenty over at Powerline blog. Pawlenty, so you aren’t surprised when he sits in for John McCain in the 2012 primaries, has hired a political advisor to update and add nuance to — not abandon and explain the mistake of — his activism for Castle’s beloved cap-n-trade.

I suppose that makes it about as “official” as things can get in the establishment center-right media: you are to actively support someone for higher office…someone who supports Obamacare, cap-n-trade, using the power of the federal government to dictate what sort of lightbulb you may use, bigger government, higher taxes, fewer freedoms (as Mark Levin has pointed out, one could go on and on with such a list — see his — because the guy’s been a professional member of the political class since the ’60s.)

That is, you are to actively support such a person so long as he is in your Club. Didn’t you catch that handshake?

You are to actively support them. Meaning, in a primary contest. Over someone else who does not hold those positions. Over someone who holds positions which adhere far more closely to the principles that unite you, around which you have organized.

As such, positions (I won’t wade so deep as to say “principles”) are meaningless. All abandonment of them is to be rationalized away.

Just a note first. The abandonment of principle for expedience has a very unhappy history, politically and otherwise, and is uniformly looked back upon with regret, often in sorrow.

Let me write it here first: meet the media’s new favorite Republican, Sen. Mike Castle. Keep that pancake makeup in your man-purse, Rep. Castle. Meet the Press et al. will fall all over themselves to book you regularly for your tales of just how wrong and heartless your colleagues are being. Thank goodness they will have you. That Lindsey Graham had worn so thin. You’re so much less unpredictable, anyway.

It’s no longer even worthwhile to ask is our Republicans learning? The question is can they?

Note: Yes, I’ve cleaned up some typos. Hurrying to get two little tornadoes to school can help lead to more of those than usual.