Gilchrest’s defeat is discouraging, not least since he had Ron Paul’s endorsement, but I have to marvel at the Club for Growth’s enthusiasm for Pyrrhic victory in this case.  Certainly Gilchrest’s changed views on the war were not the only thing that his challenger used against him, but you have to wonder what the the Club is thinking when it ousts a Republican moderate (Gilchrest has a lifetime ACU of 61) from the district who is on the popular side of the war and replaces him with a pro-war tax-cutter who stands much less chance of keeping the seat in GOP hands come November.  In a cycle that seems to be trending Democratic overall, when the party already has dozens of open seats to defend, other seats are at risk and the NRCC has the wild notion of retaking seats lost in ’06, the Club has helped to ensure that there will be one more open seat to protect when the incumbent would likely have much more easily won re-election (Gilchrest received 68% of the vote in ’06).  The 1st District is not exactly prime Club territory–it is a closely divided district in party registration and leans only slightly Republican in general.  Whoever was responsible for selecting Gilchrest as a target for elimination was extremely short-sighted.