re: #507 Varek Raith

Yes, I’m definitely looking forward to the Republicans having to deal with the newly elected nutters in their party.
Gonna be fun!

As I said yesterday: Make sure you have C-Span and a 2 year supply of popcorn.

On a more serious note, it occurs to me that the Palinistas and other denizens of Tea Bagistan are making a crucial, but common, mistake. They think that all the newfound grassroots (or astroturf) support they have is somehow the result of a massive buy-in by voters into their political philosophy. It is not. The average voter does not give a rat’s ass about theories of government. Most people want to be rewarded for their willingness to work hard and to live in the knowledge that they are secure in life and limb. Many, if not most, of their supposed “base” will abandon the Tea Party Right in droves once it becomes clear that these fruit n’ nut cakes can’t govern because they themselves don’t understand the constitution, economics, or the true nature of foreign affairs, and as a result cannot make us better governed, wealthier, or more secure.

Very few people are going to vote the freaky Right for truly ideological purposes, and only those few will vote for them a second time. The damage done to the Republican Party will be lasting, however, and it will be interesting to see how the middle resurrects itself as a rational political force that the majority of voters can trust to govern rationally.