No enemies to the right

On the national scene, there are no Republican moderates. Oh, sure, Colin Powell, but how many divisions does he have?

In Texas, of course, the Republican primary for governor is a contest between a hard-line conservative and an out-and-out frothing wingnut.

There is nothing useful to be gained from negotiating with these people.

Mainstreaming extremism

Sonia Sotomayor is now a Supreme Court Justice, which is a good thing.

There's a cloud in the silver lining, though. Only nine Republicans could bring themselves to support her, despite these facts:

1. She's obviously a moderate, both temperamentally and judicially.
2. She won't change the balance of the Court at all.
3. She's diabetic and thus sadly unlikely to stay on the Court into her eighties.
4. She represents now the aspirations of the fastest growing large ethnic demographic.

We are a deeply divided nation, and the Republican Party is committed to deepening those divisions. Had they simply acquiesced to the craven logic of Sotomayor being the very best option for them, they could have pointed toward greater political unity. Instead, they chose to trash her for, in essence, one decision and one comment.

Update (8/8): Now it's official.