I would buy into your theory IF I saw a change in the mindset of the newer, younger members of the DEMS in Congress...
BUT, Osama Obama, Debbie Wasserman-Schulz, Kendrick Meek...these people are MORE deluded than even Kennedy and Kerry!!!
BUT, you look at Coburn and Pence...they are new..and are bucking the "old guard" in the Republican Party...not making friends along the way...to be sure....but they are getting attention...and I FOR ONE...am paying close attention.
Pence and Coburn can afford to appear to be bucking the party because their party is in the Majority. I remember seeing Coburn on "meet the Press" or one of the talk Shows just before he was elected and he was Gawd awful, and I have seen Pence look pretty shallow,but not too much recently. I believe that the Party leadership is interested in continued Majority status and they are bringing these new Pubbies along playing the games to see just where they need to concentrate their efforts to win everything again. It is smart Politics because for one thing the so called "mavericks" take the lamestream media 24-7 Tom Delay/Abramhoff crap somewhat off the front pages, and some of the disgruntled pubbies do not stray far because they see hope for their cause. Look what Tom Tancredo has done to stir up all this Border stuff that most of America agrees with. The leadership pretends that they are super mad at him, but they are not really and he is with them on almost every other issue. It looks good for our party to have dissent because the Dems are led like Sheep.