Moderate GOP group opens doors to Democrats

The Republican Main Street Partnership is dropping the "Republican" from its name in hopes of attracting more centrist Democrats, Yahoo News reports. Now known as just "The Main Street Partnership," the group insists Democrats and Republicans need to find more common ground in Washington:

“The goal is to try and fill the void that is the middle,” the group’s new president, former Ohio congressman Steven LaTourette, told Yahoo. “The American political system is like a doughnut: You’ve got sides, but you don’t have anything in the middle and it would be my goal to work with Republicans and Democrats who want to find the path forward to getting things done and compromise.”

In retiring earlier this year, LaTourette lamented the increasing polarization in the House of Representatives.

“I have reached the conclusion that the atmosphere today and the reality that exists in the House of Representatives no longer encourages the finding of common ground,” he said. ...

Members of the group include Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Mark Kirk (Ill.) and John McCain (Ariz.) as well as several influential House members: Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (Mich.), Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.), Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (Mich.) and National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden (Ore.).

I'll be honest -- as a constitutional conservative, the mention of "compromise" raises red flags.  "Compromise" on the part of conservatives generally requires moving away from our country's constitutional principles in favor of more progressive ideals which focus less on cherished individual liberty and more on the collective good.  Ideally, these principles would be something both Democrats and Republicans  could agree on, but that seems less likely every day.  Dropping "Republican" from the letterhead only seems like further retreat.