GOP in disarray

Beneath the squabbles over who is the "de facto head" of the Republican party lies the real struggle to regroup, forge an identity, and let leaders emerge. This is necessary in a party that has gone through a disastrous 8 year presidency, that lost control of congress, and is now in a minority status. It's losing presidential candidate cannot unite the party, and no one has yet emerged who can heal the sharp split between the fiscal conservative and the social conservative wings of the party.

So we're seeing the natural evolution as they fight it out. Sam Stein (HuffingtonPost) wrote of the straw poll at the recent CPAC conference:

In the end, the numbers underscored the softness of Romney's 'frontrunner' status. The former Massachusetts Governor won only 20 percent of the CPAC vote; four other individuals -- Bobby Jindal, Ron Paul, Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich -- earned ten percent or more. And all were overshadowed by Rush Limbaugh.

The boisterous talk show host was the belle of the CPAC ball, earning the unofficial title of GOP spiritual leader following a winding and brash 90-minute speech. But his appearance, while loved in the ballroom, only exacerbated the intra-party fissures. As the crowd ate up Limbaugh's red meat, other Republicans watched in horror; the figurehead of their movement -- a rambling, sweaty and at times angry man -- was calling once again for the intensely popular president to fail.

"If we don't modernize conservatism, we are going to have a party of 25 percent of the vote going to Limbaugh rallies, joining every applause line, ripping the furniture up, we're going to be in permanent minority status," said Mike Murphy, a longtime Republican strategist, declared the next day on Meet The Press.

We'll have to wait to see how this shakes out over time. Meanwhile, don't get in the way of their crossfire or try to talk them out of their circular firing squad.

Ralph