The GOP Insane Asylum

David Brooks is again warning of the impending death of the Republican Party. Would that it were so:

And let us recognize above all the 228 who voted no — the authors of this revolt of the nihilists. They showed the world how much they detest their own leaders and the collected expertise of the Treasury and Fed. They did the momentarily popular thing, and if the country slides into a deep recession, they will have the time and leisure to watch public opinion shift against them.

House Republicans led the way and will get most of the blame. It has been interesting to watch them on their single-minded mission to destroy the Republican Party. Not long ago, they led an anti-immigration crusade that drove away Hispanic support. Then, too, they listened to the loudest and angriest voices in their party, oblivious to the complicated anxieties that lurk in most American minds.

Now they have once again confused talk radio with reality. If this economy slides, they will go down in history as the Smoot-Hawleys of the 21st century. With this vote, they’ve taken responsibility for this economy, and they will be held accountable. The short-term blows will fall on John McCain, the long-term stress on the existence of the G.O.P. as we know it.

This seems to be a recurring theme among the mainstream pundits. My favorite, which I can't find anymore, recalled a famous remark of James L. Petigru, a former Congressman, upon the secession of South Carolina in 1860. The Republican Party, like the Republic of South Carolina, is "too small for a republic, and too large for an insane asylum."

Update: MSNBC's First Read compares the GOP to Lord of the Flies.

Second Update: The Petrigru quote was from The Reality-Based Community.