Several of my columns recently (here and here) were about the split in the Republican Party, a split between the realists and the purists. The realists want to win, and figure Mitt Romney is the one candidate who can beat President Obama. The purists also want to win but they also want a “real” conservative to win the nomination; they dislike Romney with a passion. The purists, I said, wouldn’t be happy until Ronald Reagan rises from the dead and hits the campaign trail.