Even Republicans Are Wondering . . .

what the hell the party stands for; at least according to outgoing Utah Republican Senator Bob Bennett. Quoting Talking Points Memo from a speech he gave to the Ripon Society, his words speak for themselves:

"The pendulum will swing. And we will take control of the House—I think that's going to happen—and frankly, with the death of Robert Byrd there's a chance we will take control of the Senate as well," he said. But he said Republicans' emphasis on ideological fidelity over innovative thinking will hamper their ability to accomplish anything of substance. "As I look out at the political landscape now, I find plenty of slogans on the Republican side, but not very many ideas," Bennett said. "And indeed, if you raise specific ideas and solutions, as I tried to do on health care with Ron Wyden, you are attacked with the same vigor as we've seen in American politics all the way back to the arguments over slavery and polygamy. You are attacked as being a wimp, insufficiently pure, and unreliable." That sort of savagery may help an out-of-party win elections, but it won't help them govern after they're in office. Once you win, Bennett says, "it's 'thank you for the slogans' and 'thank you for the election.' But in the immortal words of Robert Redford in the movie, The Candidate, 'What do we do now?' .