I think being hammered for two elections straight was a good wakeup call to the party, who seems to have rebounded from years of largess and are slowly returning to their roots.
Also they are being very smart to pin it on Pelosi and Reed. These two do nothings have nowhere near the popularity of the 0ne, so the GOP should run hard against Congress.
Unfortunately, the “leader” of the party was a RINO and the rest followed his lead. Maybe they feel boldened with Bush out of office.