Like a paranoid old turtle pulling its head back into its shell and ignoring the rest of the world, the Republican Party is letting itself be taken over by the atavistic, extreme right wing forces of the tea party movement, as one of the most conservative Senators in Congress is unceremoniously thrown out by teabaggers because he wasn’t conservative enough for them: Tea party wins victory in Utah as incumbent GOP senator loses bid for nomination.

It’s a portrait of a political party so far off the rails I’m beginning to doubt they’ll ever find their way back to sanity.