>>>My belief in 2004 was to vote Republican, and then fight their ideas and challenge them to do better.
>>>
>>>They've failed, plain and simple. As much as I hate to say this, the Republicans needed a huge loss to get their house in order. I just hope this country doesn't sway too far to the left.
>>
>>
>>I don't think it will. The reason the democrats won everything was becuase the Republicans failed to be "Republicans".... does that make since?
>
>It makes perfect sense. In fact I was listening to one analyst talk about exactly that. He felt that the Reps had lost their way over the Bush term and had become far too religiously politicised and spent far more time trying to interfere in people's lives than republicans are supposed to do. He felt that the mid-term election was a good thing from a republican point of view because it will force them to sit down and reassess their direction. He felt they would eventually realise that they need to get back to being the republicans that republican voters expect.


Hmmm. Very well said. I just got done disagreeing with Kevin, in a reply to Sam, but you have explained it better than I understood it. Thanks.

You also touch on what I think is the fundamental instability within the Republican party. They are at once the old Republicans -- fiscally conservative, "leave me alone" -- and the socially conservative "religious right" who have to an extent hijacked the party for their own purposes. It's really two parties in one at this point, and they disagree with each other on some pretty fundamental points. (Pun unintended). The only thing that keeps them together is that they know that together they can defeat the Dummycrats and divided they can't. It's like a bad marriage, really.