There IS a logic to the GOP plan.
Think of this past election, and of where the funding for the Democratic party largely came from. Think of the Clinton years, about who voted him into office in 1992, and about who sided with him regardless of whatever dirt they could throw at him. Think of Grover Norquist's dream of 'defunding' the GOPs only obstacle to protracted one-party rule and corporatist government.
Forget religion. Forget terrorism. And forget Iraq. These are all of course on the agenda, but to the GOP these are merely bumps in the road and opportunities to exploit towards their one overarching goal: Class warfare, precision targeted to defund its only domestic rival.
The modern left long ago abandoned Marxist principles, moving on to a much more viable neo-liberalism 'borrowed' from postwar Europe and implemented by the Clinton administration. Most of us don't even think in Marxist terms anymore. The Crazy Leftists are long gone. The unions are mostly gone. We're now a loose coalition of people left out of the GOPs comparatively narrow focus (wrong race, wrong beliefs, wrong social class, myriad reasons) who prefer to build kinder, gentler markets that make some wealthy, and lets everyone else live a reasonably secure life. A healthy tax base to deal with social problems without significantly retarding the economy would (we're pretty sure) be the final result, if this kind of economy were allowed to develop and survive.
We're half of the country.
We've known since at least the Clinton years that when your economy educates your workers into skilled professionals, they tend to become more 'reality-based', more sophisticated in their outlook, and a bit harder to manipulate. Many of these people will vote Democratic (remember Robert Reich's 'symbolic analysts'?), comprising a media market and funding source for the Dems.
Since their only capital is the content of their heads, they become a fairly well-off class that owns its own means of production. As they get richer and more confident, they start to do things like form their own companies and play at being a lesser investor class. This energizes the economy and drives wages up, both in their own class and in the service classes (since consumption overall goes up).
The stock market inflates. Eventually the Fed has to start raising interest rates to dampen growth in order to avoid a future Depression.
The traditional, older ruling class that formed back in the mid 1800s (and is the financial heart of the GOP) doesn't like higher interest rates. They despise higher wages. Much more of this, and the prices just might go up with inflation, and it'll be harder to make a profit. They like old-style capital, a small investor class, a small but sympathetic professional class and a docile, inexpensive service sector.
So they attack that very segment of the culture which most threatens them: The Symbolics.
Favor ownership over labor, physical or mental, in the tax code. Favor the super-rich older elites (note that the media falls in this class also). Outsource the jobs (and income) of that annoying upper middle. Keep the service sector afraid for their jobs, and distracted/riled up with the old Culture War meme. Use any tool that comes to hand --stem cells, terrorism, gay marriage-- to distract attention from your long term domestic plans.
Dismantle the political apparatus of the 1990s, and you're free to undo the 1960s and 1930s.
Rove's been very public about his goals... a rolling back of the clock to the McKinley-Coolidge era, through what basically amounts to economic warfare upon that healthy middle class that was a lynchpin of general prosperity --and Democratic dominance (regardless of Newt's efforts)-- for almost 8 years.
Now, to my real point: The "Revenge of the Evangelicals" narrative of the past two days is largely a distraction, aimed directly at the Left. Rove knows that every liberal's secret nightmare would be to see the Handmaid's Tale come true in America. Not only does an Evangelical uprising materialize as several million pliable voters to push Bush to victory in Ohio, but it also scares the bejeezuz out of a group that Rove perceives to be a bunch of neurotic, girlie Democrats.
In other words: This election was orchestrated not only to retain Bush, but to bring on Shock and Awe. And fear is exactly their intent.
So be sad. Be angry. Be disgusted. But DO NOT BE AFRAID. Monday was only 3 days ago, and we have all our lives ahead of us. Over 55 million people rejected their plan, and they know it. They also know when they push TOO far, the so-called rubes that support their base will swing over and things like 1932 (or 1960 or 1992) will happen.
Tuesday was a Phyrric victory. Rove knows damned well that eventually the public will catch on, and vote the GOP out of power for a generation. His goal is to postpone that day as long as possible (by decades, if he can) while managing as much rollback as time allows.
Yet, by pushing the line so far to retain the grip on government, they really don't have much more room to push before the whole narrative unravels. A year ago, he didn't expect it to be as hard to re-elect Bush as it was. A year ago, the GOP was the two-headed beast of Enron and Halliburton, with only token nods to the Evangelicals. Now the GOP is largely propped up by a group that knows damned well its importance, and which won't be shy about asking for its due.
Defeating John Kerry took everything they had, and he took a piece of them down with him. A BIG piece. Take pride in that, and ignore the childish taunting of the other side. It will be short lived.
Right now, in their elation, they have fantasies of rolling back the reforms of the past century. But we will not let them.
Keep pushing. Dare them to piss off their moderates and timid corporates (think Sinclair) in order to appease their radical base. Make it clear to their radical base that they are being used. Refuse to let them gut the economy, and keep reminding the people that the Media (where most of these battles take place) is not their friend, but is owned by the very same group it reports on. Push on every financial, military, and moral scandal to alienate the fundamentally decent base... and always, always attach these to positive messages that offer alternatives that can be summed up in seven words or less.
And make it stick.
They started shooting at us long ago. It's time to Turn the Boat, folks.