Pat Buchanan has a great column up at The American Conservative that I think is worthy of posting here as in the purview of dkos readers. He says many things that I and some others around here have been thinking with regards to the significance of the Obama presidency for the future of electoral politics in our country, and essentially warns conservatives that the Obama presidency may represent a realignment on par with FDR or Nixon. (I prefer comparing Obama to Reagan and Clinton to Nixon but I digress.)
When it comes to the Hagel nomination, for example, Buchanan ascribes different motives than I would but the practical outcome is the same: Republicans are put in the difficult position of rejecting one of their own, or endorsing Obama's annexation if you will of a model conservative turned social moderate; in any case, it divides the party and perhaps pits it against itself, damaging it politically.
The upshot is that the continued divisiveness within the GOP has precedent when it comes to these historical, realigning presidencies. Buchanan seems to believe there is some deliberate divide and conquer strategy on Obama's part; I tend to think, to quote a fellow dkos'er, that he keeps hitting bullseyes without ever appearing to be aiming. Either way, once again the practical outcome is the same: a divided GOP and an ascendant Democratic party.
The column is well worth a read: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/...