Half-Breeds and Stalwarts

The Republicans of the late 1870s and 1880s were divided into two factions, the half-breeds and the stalwarts. These two groups were considered political enemies. They faught bitterly to get their candidates nominated over the opposing faction's candidates. They saught to block the platform of the other faction. When one faction was nominated as president, the other was necessarily VP nominated to satisfy the other faction.

And this was all over a single issue.

If such bitterness arises over one thing, in this case the spoils system, then how can a party stand? If the current Democrats became so broken up over healthcare that they became factionized, all they would do is hurt their own party. They still have the same overall agenda, but they decide that oh this one issue is supreme and if we can't agree on that we can't be friends anymore.

It's really stupid to factionize in this way, and it just makes it all the more important that Chester Arthur rose above factions in his day.