Cruisin’ for a bruisin’

Talking to Zack last night, I reiterated my claim that the Republicans, despite their massive ass-tasting over the last two elections, have not yet gone the full crazy and are likely to nominate even more nutzoid candidates in 2010 and (especially) 2012. They just haven’t hit bottom yet. In fact, they can’t even admit to themselves that they have a problem.

From my lips to God’s ears: Rasmussen just came out with a poll showing that 43% of Republicans think that the party has been too moderate over the last eight years, and 55% (!) want the party to become more like Sarah Palin in the future.

(Bizarrely, only 11% of Republicans think the party should become more like George W. Bush, proving that they have no ability to recognize that Sarah Palin IS George W. Bush.)

The crazies are the only ones left in the party. Well, the crazies and Pat (somebody please tell him just to take a break from his party for the next two-to-four years and then hop back in after they’ve completely collapsed– it makes me uncomfortable to see him going down with the ship). But this means, obviously, that they can’t possibly moderate, and they’re going to have to get obliterated before the people who used to make them reasonable (wrong, but reasonable) can come in and pick up what few pieces are left.

There isn’t much more room to go in the House, most of the Republicans left there are in such safe districts that they have nothing to worry about (which is why most of them are even nuttier than normal House members, who are pretty much all nutty), but Senate Republicans need to figure themselves out before they get blasted again. And the presidential race in 2012… oh boy…

The thing is, there needs to be a healthy and reasonable opposition. The more ideas, the better, and ideas coming from just one side can’t be a good thing for too long. But right now, we just can’t afford the idea vacuum coming from the GOP. It’s not just useless, it’s harmful.

Could this all change? Well, the economy is going to get worse, and if it takes a little too long to get worked out… let me just remind everyone that Paul Blart: Mall Cop won the box office two weeks in a row. There are a lot of things I love about the American people, but let’s not kid ourselves– it won’t be hard to try to pin whatever problems we’ve still got in two or four years on the Democrats. Whether it’s justified or not by then won’t matter.

But right now? The Republicans can’t pop their own balloons fast enough. Look out beloooowwww…



Update: Aaaaaand… Joe (Sam) the (Not-) Plumber will be the featured guest at a GOP Congressional aide strategy meeting. Sounds about right.