We've been predicting major splits in the GOP for some time now, given the open contradiction between the Tea Party's willingness to play Russian roulette with the full faith and credit of the United States and Wall Street's need for the government to make good on its bond obligations. Well, David Brooks -- perhaps the very definition of Republican hackitude -- today confirms that split is not just a theoretical possibility:
If the Republican Party were a normal party, it would take advantage of this amazing moment. It is being offered the deal of the century: trillions of dollars in spending cuts in exchange for a few hundred million dollars of revenue increases....
The members of this movement do not accept the logic of compromise, no matter how sweet the terms. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch in order to cut government by a foot, they will say no. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch to cut government by a yard, they will still say no....
The struggles of the next few weeks are about what sort of party the G.O.P. is — a normal conservative party or an odd protest movement that has separated itself from normal governance, the normal rules of evidence and the ancient habits of our nation.
He's writing like a man about to abandon his party.