>And the soft right doesn't induce splintering because of what... exactly?
What soft right? The species liberal Republican is virtually extinct, aside from a few protected enclaves (e.g. the NYC City Hall right now). I suppose you could call the DLC soft right, but they've taken over what's conventionally regarded as the lefter party. (Oh, no, I forgot about those 60 good pwogwessives in the House, and all those splendid activists on the ground who've accomplished so much. Give me two weeks and I might come up with one of those achievements!)
Doug