What He Said

The root of my obsession with the disarray on the American Right is summed up perfectly by Krugman today:

In the short run, Republican extremism may be good for Democrats, to the extent that it prompts a voter backlash. But in the long run, it’s a very bad thing for America. We need to have two reasonable, rational parties in this country. And right now we don’t.

I like the short-run political benefits of this insanity (assuming people don't actually start shooting) because the current GOP does not deserve to be taken seriously. But I share Krugman's concern about the lack of a coherent antithesis in this country. The sooner the GOP can add Pragmatism to its Reaganism, the better.

Update 1: Hope on the horizon?

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said GOP colleagues privately expressed weariness with the hardball political tactics that have heightened partisan tensions.

“There have been a couple of [Republican] senators who have said sometimes, like last night, that ‘this is pointless, I don’t know why we’re doing this,’ ” McCaskill said in reference to a voting session that lasted until the early morning hours Thursday to consider GOP amendments to healthcare reform.

As a side note, I really like Claire McCaskill. Don't rule her out as the first woman POTUS.