I fervently hope that Chaffee and Snowe remain Republicans, but not at the price of neutering the Republican message. The GOP cannot retain the White House and regain the Senate by enticing voters with servings of vanilla pudding. Chaffee's ransom isn't worth paying. It will reduce the party's voter base, rather than expand it. No, for a political party to survive and to thrive it must stand grandly and unwaveringly for something.
Tax cuts are a signature issue for the Republican party.
The GOP, from the local level up through the governors' mansions and the White House, is stronger now than it's been at anytime in fifty years. That is because the GOP has been almost thoroughly transformed from the party of northeastern Rockefellers to the party of southern and western Reaganites. His defection is indeed a short-term setback. It will only be a long-run set back if the GOP learns all the wrong lessons.