Please read their editorial and James Taranto's comment afterwards.

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A string of defections by prominent Republicans who endorsed Democratic candidates, the biggest in decades, has exposed an ideological rupture in the Republican Party and demonstrated how difficult it has become for the major parties to enforce discipline.
While it is not clear how much effect the endorsements will have on this year's state and Federal races, the fissure exposed by the desertions points to trouble ahead for Republicans. . . .
If the campaign events are any indication, even if the Republicans make major gains next Tuesday, the party may have a hard time smoothing over differences between its conservative and moderate wings. . .. .
Not since the nomination of Barry Goldwater in 1964 sent many Republicans scurrying to rally around Lyndon B. Johnson have so many prominent party members bitterly turned on the party's candidates. And that was in a Presidential contest. Just as in 1964, they are shifting in one direction: away from conservative Republicans.
"They're frightened about the movement of their party to a more right-wing conservative agenda," said Fred Steeper, a Republican pollster in Detroit.
Although most experts agree that one person's endorsement does not usually sway voters in numbers large enough to turn around an election immediately, candidates can seize on such events to show that things are turning their way. That seems to be happening in the closing days of the campaign, with Democrats using the endorsements as a sign of movement for their candidates.

Taranto comments:
And the article was published a week before Election Day, so it doesn't even mention former Republican Dede Scozzafava's decision to back Democrat Bill Owens in that upstate New York House race.

Actually, make that 783 weeks before Election Day. To be precise, the article appeared Nov. 1, 1994, a week before the big Republican sweep. And it does bring back memories. One of "the two most publicized cases" was Mayor Rudy Giuliani's endorsement of Gov. Mario Cuomo. Remember that? Giuliani is now campaigning for Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman in that House race, the Washington Examiner reports.

My comments:
And it's still going on; here's an example from 11/2/09:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091102/ap_o...