Face it, Rove is tainted now, he will never be an asset in future elections. If Obama gets the credit for bringing Rove to trial then the taint will spread out into the entire Republican party (probably unfairly). If Republicans fail to make it clear that they support Law & Order without fear of favor, they will be forever be seen as the party of cronyism and corruption.

What voters will believe that they have now seen the light at precisely the same time as Obama was elected?

For Republicans to gain power, we will need many new faces...

Stand strong against the socialists and give the voters a clear choice between socialism and big government and individual rights and free enterprise and I bet the GOP wins big.

tj: where have you been for the last decade?

Stand strong against the socialists and give the voters a clear choice between socialism and big government and individual rights and free enterprise and I bet the GOP wins big. Not with faux Republicans like McCain but with real conservatives like Reagan.

Having debunked this with bithead yesterday, I think you're the one who needs to hit the microfilm room.

Dantheman: I think that was Ricks point.

As to the larger point, I think the GOP is in a "damned if they do, damned if they don't" position. Only the future will tell who is right.

i do think the GOP has a lot of work ahead of them, if they want either house of congress back, but acting as if the GOP will never do it again is naive.

While it bugs me that the GOP struggled to have party discipline and any real principals as the majority, I think it is important to note that party discipline is always easier, when your party is in the minority. I think in the house it is even easier-especially in the Pelosi house, because the rules have been created in such a way that meaningful input form the GOP is difficult-sometimes a party line vote is the only thing they've got.

When a party is in power, it is harder to keep the coalition together, especially when it comes to congress members from districts that lean more the other way. There is a reason conservatives complain about Snowe, Collins and some other moderates-and why a lot of liberals complain about their blue dogs.

Speaking of blue dogs-note just who swung to the nay column on the stimulus bill-the reality is that while there may be a need for stimulus, some are questioning the need for these specific bill as stimulus.

Jeez, the (party which just lost the election) is going to cease to exist stories usually come out right after the election. Mr. Silver seems a bit slow on the uptake.

One of the central ideas is that while "listen to your customers" is usually true, and as old as the hills, it can also lead you wrong. The idea is that you build a "value network" with your installed base and miss the growth of a newer (and sometimes larger) group. One example was that Caterpillar listened to their customers and built bigger, missing Bobcat when they came in from the bottom.

I wonder if the reduced ranks of active (and passionate) Republicans are leading to that kind of misleading value network now. I don't doubt that ... well, charles and bithead, love the current moves.

The question is what is happening outside the network, and if the effect is further isolation.

IOW, poll the independents.