Oceander wrote:
[[ right now is not the best time to have that existential knock-down drag-out fight within the GOP; doing so only leaves the democrats in power, and that is the worst possible thing that could happen. ]]
If we don't have it now, when ARE we going to have it?
The fact is, the GOP-e is in the process of marginalizing itself right out of being a national political party that will never win a presidential election again, nor have the ability to influence national policies.
Actually, I don't think anything is going to stop them from doing just that. The TEA party is trying to pull the GOP-e back from that brink, but the "e's" will have nothing of it.
Afterwards, until a replacement party emerges to become the new "second party", there will exist something of a "reign of terror" from the democrats, as you warned about above.
I don't look forward to that, any more than you do.
The difference between us is that I realize that this must occur before a new party arises from the ashes of the GOP-e ...