Via
The Moderate Voice, I found
a post at RedState which could either be a) disinformation or b) further evidence of the growing disgust the non-Taliban wing of GOP has for the Dobson-wing of the party.
Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.) could be leading a "coup" of moderate and traditional (smaller, less intrusive government) Republicans early next year:
"There's a coup afoot and it's going to be led by Tom Reynolds," a well-place source on Capitol Hill told me on the condition of anonymity. "He's already meeting privately with members to discuss the campaign and strategize."
"To my understanding, this is not an ideological thing. Instead, there's a feeling that we need to move beyond the DeLay era. A lot of people would like to see him put out to pasture, like Trent Lott," my source said.
More on the flip . . .
Reynolds, from Buffalo, is well-schooled in hard-knocks politics. The New York Republican political machine became one of the most efficient and effective in history during the 1990s and early 2000s, though it has atrophied tremendously in recent years.
In preparation for this drastic move, Reynolds has brought in a new Chief of Staff: Kirk Fordham, a well-seasoned and highly respected Republican Hill staffer and campaign operative.
The Reynolds coup will not officially be connected to the revolt of the moderates recently urged by liberal Republican Congressman Charlie Bass (R-N.H.). Instead, Reynolds is calculating that there are enough aggrieved moderates and conservatives to combine with frustrated back-benchers who feel they have no strong voice in the caucus.
Translation:
Dobson has taken control of the lame duck loonies, and we aren't going down with them.
Who knows if this "coup" will materialize, and if it will even have any effect if it does, but one thing is for certain: Congressional Republicans have to face American voters next year, and they are terrified.
Americans are increasingly fed up with the corruption of DeLay, the incompetence of Frist, and the hubris of the Bush administration. The most recent election showed that Bush is a lead weight around the neck of the GOP, and no amount of Rovian attacks are going to stop their slow-but-steady descent below the Nixon line in the polls . . . but congressional Republicans who have played the "You're with Bush or you hate America" card the last five years are going to have a hard time explaining why they've suddenly broken ranks with him.
t's just too much fun to watch them fall apart, isn't it? They made this bed, and it turns out that it's not as comfortable to lie in as they thought it would be. Excuse me while I don't have any sympathy for them. They earned this, Big Time.