Banking On National Failure

Studying the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races, E. J. Dionne has some advice for the GOP:

Memo to Republicans: Talk a right-wing game in your ideological magazines and at your tea parties if that makes you happy. But to win elections, your candidates had better look like middle-of-the-road problem-solvers.

Of course the right reads that as a call from the left to Republicans to win elections by becoming enablers of the prevailing big government project. Better, the true believers insist, to remain a righteous remnant. Better, as RN said about the Goldwaterites, to be right than President. Better, even, to promote the victory of Democrats over moderate Republicans. Wait in purity and in expectation that economic or foreign policy disaster will once again propel a true believer into power.

Wait, in other words, for Carter and Reagan to come back. Basically Sarah Palin's GOP is banking on bankruptcy.