The Palinization of the Republican Party proceeds apace and party insiders openly tremble as they should. And it's not only the Tea Party extremists. It's Sharron Angle hiding from the press. And Rand Paul doing the same. Or Meg Whitman ducking her own press conference. Or Chris Dudley ducking a debate.
And then there are the liars and cheats. Serial plagiarist Scott McInnis. And serial liar Mark Kirk, who also, understandably, literally runs from the press. And then there's Dudley's dishonesty, too.
Not only are Republican candidates hopelessly extreme and/or inept, they or their backers know that they're hopelessly extreme and/or inept. These people are attempting to follow the Bush model of avoiding mistakes while not letting voters know the truth about who and what they are or where they stand on the issues. It's politics by obfuscation and avoidance, a deliberate strategy of dishonesty, because they know that truth is their worst enemy. Traditional Republican avoidance of scientific facts, such as on evolution or climate change, has created an alternate universe. They depend on myths and lies because it's who they are, desperately hoping that the voters believe false narratives, don't pay attention to issues, and are motivated more by fear and idolatry than rationality.
As Steve Singiser has pointed out, this is an odd election year for polling. Generic ballots and approval ratings and direction of the nation polls don't look so great for Democrats. People are worried and restless. Recovering from the many Bush disasters has not been easy, and on some issues, the Democrats should have been more aggressive in pursuing substantive change. A lot of people aren't happy with the Democrats, and are seeking something different. But once the voters take a look at the different that is offered, the present approach of slow incremental progress doesn't look that bad. It could be better, and it should be better, but the offered alternative certainly isn't better. Not only is it worse, it's frightening, and at times disturbing. What's offered by the Republicans isn't progress, not even slow incremental progress. It's regression, rapid regression. In some cases, it's back to Medievalism regression.
The Democrats need to do a much better job of convincing voters that they stand for the people and for a better future. Being better than a train wreck isn't much of a standard, but for now the best thing the Democrats have going for them is the quality of the opposition. Or, more accurately, the lack of quality of the opposition. That could be enough. As the unhinged extremists increasingly come to dominate their own party, even many traditional hard right Republicans are just plain scared.