A trend not a dogma

I'm over at Cap'n's and mostly having a discussion with myself on the ineptness of the Rs. The Cap'n says the republicans are missing a spine. I disagree. I'm quoting some of what I wrote here:

The Rs aren't missing a spine. They are missing a brain. Here is my estimate of what the typical American wants in order of importance:

1. Successful prosecution of the war
2. Efforts to streamline (reduce) Federal involvement in the economy including tax simplification.
3. Social security.
4. Culture wars

So what do the Rs put at the top of their agenda?

The culture wars.

It is not called the stupid party for nothing.

Frist and DeLay are to be complimented. They have put the hammer down and fractured their own party.

We haven't seen this much political brilliance since Richard Nixon. For the same reason. The paranoid style in the end is self defeating. We have enemies - boo hoo. We will make a list. None of them will be missed.

Funny thing is I predicted this Republican crack up in May of '03. Where I went wrong was that I figured after a big election loss in '04 the democrats would fragment. They didn't. They became hard core.

What is surprising is that the Republicans have managed to make this remnant (Nancy Pelosi?, Harry Reid?) sympathetic.

How inept can you get?

The Republicans need to leave the Inn of Comfort and get ept real quick.

Don't they know there is a war on?

Frist and DeLay need to get out of their (religious) comfort zones and spend way more time (in private gatherings if public ones would be an electoral problem) with RINOs.

They need the RINOs to win in the Senate.

The RINOs need to be wooed where possible and understood when not.

Deals need to be made before legislation is brought to the floor. Not after when positions are hardened.

Actual Republicanism on the ground is a trend not a dogma. A real politician would understand the difference.