First problem with Brent's reasoning is, Christine O'Donnell has no shot at getting elected. She never did. Going with the politics-as-chess meme, I've always wanted to explore primaries as exercises in minmaxing -- and the Tea Party has thrown the game completely out of whack. They've picked, in this case and in some others, candidates who have no shot at winning in a general election.
Which is why I almost look forward to the next two years; there's no way they can possibly do any of the shit they promised
After the Bush Administration, there's little I won't believe either in terms of what the Republicans will push or what the Democrats will allow.
I basically draw the line at Constitutional amendments -- and, granted, amending the Constitution (to repeal #14, #16, and #17) IS a plank in the Tea Party Platform. But I do think they can do some damage.
And I don't really see much benefit in keeping O'Donnell out there front-and-center -- as Bill Maher said, she's really just a nicer version of Sarah Palin. She's dumb but she's not mean (even if her views are).
Sharron Angle is probably a better example of a situation where we can afford to lose somebody -- partly because she actually stands a chance of winning, and partly because I just hate Harry Reid that much. Of course, there's always the possibility that the Democrats will, in their infinite wisdom, pick an even WORSE leader. (I got to thinking, the other day, about whether Reid or Daschle was worse. Ultimately I have to go with Daschle, because allowing us to get into the Iraq War is the single biggest failure of the Democratic Party in my lifetime.)
and in 2012 they're going to have to stand there impotently and keep leaning on the same argument that this is all somehow the liberals' fault.
That IS part of what happened in '06 -- the evangelicals realized they'd been sold a bill of goods with the half-assed attempt at an anti-gay marriage amendment in '04 -- but I think it was more that the moderates were sick of the war, sick of corruption, and sick of Bush.
keep leaning on the same argument that this is all somehow the liberals' fault.
If it ain't broke.
Yeah, ask the Democrats how well "The reason we haven't done the shit we said we would is because these guys keep saying no all the time" works as a campaign slogan.