The Republican Civil War

After their devastating defeat in the 2008 election, I would have thought the Republicans would see that their party was in trouble and start to steer it back to the center. After all, they were not brought to power by just the right-wing, but by a coalition of right-wing Republicans, moderate Republicans, independents and even conservative Democrats -- the so-called "Reagan Coalition".

But that is not happening. If anything, the party seems to be going even further to the right. With far less than 30% of the American population identifying themselves as Republicans now, it would seem obvious that the party needs to appeal to moderates and centrist independents. There are some Republicans who see this, but not many.

Those who want to expand the party and reach out to those in the center are currently being led by Colin Powell. As a left-winger, Powell scares the hell out of me. He is a moderate who is well respected by a large part of the American populace. He is the kind of person who could lead the Republicans back to power in a short period of time.

Fortunately for Democrats, the current powers-that-be in the Republican Party don't seem to be able to see that. In fact, they actually believe the Republicans need to move farther to the right and are actively trying to purge the party of all its moderates. They have already driven Arlen Specter our, and seem to be trying to do the same with Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

He may not be a politician, but the de facto leader of the Republican Party right now is Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh has a large radio audience, but that is all he has. And that radio audience is not nearly large enough to return the Republicans to power. In fact, he turns off the moderates, and drives independents away from the party.

But amazingly, it is Limbaugh that party leaders are lining up behind, including Michael Steele, Newt Gingrich, Dick Cheney and Karl Rove. Many congressional Republicans have also chosen to back Limbaugh, or are too afraid to speak against him. This pretty much leaves Powell alone and swinging in the wind.

Although I think the current direction of the Republican Party is suicidal, I hope it continues. If they do remain the party of Limbaugh, it will mean many more good years for Democrats, and that's a good thing.