Civil war breaks out inside Senate GOP

The GOP will have its hands full in the next two years dealing with its own civil war.

Long-simmering tensions within the Republican Party spilled into public view Wednesday as the pragmatic and conservative wings of the GOP blamed each other in blunt terms for the party’s failure to capture the Senate.

With tea party-backed candidates going down in Delaware, Colorado and Nevada, depriving Republicans of what would have been a 50-50 Senate, a bloc of prominent senators and operatives said party purists like Sarah Palin and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) had foolishly pushed nominees too conservative to win in politically competitive states.

Movement conservatives pointed the finger right back at the establishment, accusing the National Republican Senatorial Committee of squandering millions on a California race that wasn’t close at the expense of offering additional aid in places like Colorado, Nevada and Washington state, where Democratic Sen. Patty Murray holds a narrow lead as the votes continue to be counted.

They're both right. The teabaggers certainly cost the GOP three seats in the Senate, and likely more. While we were blessed at the NRSC's decision to dump mega millions into California.

But this isn't really a battle about campaign strategy. This is about the GOP's ideological purity wing that wants to destroy government, versus the one that wants to funnel federal goodies to its powerful friends.

We'll see them pivot toward policy infighting when we reach the debt ceiling debate. But for now, at least we've learned that they're no longer keeping their disagreements private. This will be a public show, for all of us to enjoy.