Watch Out Charlie, Michael is Coming!

Just a day after Michael Steele defended moderate GOP Senator Olympia Snowe and threw an elbow at prominent conservatives who drove moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava from the race for Congress in New York's 23rd Congressional district, the GOP Chairman now appears to be on board with purging moderates who support President Obama's economic policies. From Politico:

"[C]andidates who live in moderate to slightly liberal districts have got to walk a little bit carefully here, because you do not want to put yourself in a position where you’re crossing that line on conservative principles, fiscal principles, because we’ll come after you,” Steele told ABC's Top Line in response to a question about Republicans who support the White House's stimulus and health care plans.

“You’re gonna find yourself in a very tough hole if you’re arguing for the president’s stimulus plan or Nancy Pelosi’s health plan. There’s no justification for growing the size of government the way this administration and this Congress wants to do it.”

Note his emphasis on fiscal principles. Is the new message that members can stray on social issues--abortion, gay rights--but not economic issues? If so, that is good news for the economic and social libertarians in the party--the Meghan McCain wing, if you will--and bad news for the social conservatives--the "earth is only 6000 years old" wing. Could this open up a new front in the GOP UNcivil war? This keeps getting better and better!