Wow—since this was from two months ago, I have had to reread the thread to see the context in which I was posting.
The way I see it, the Republicans as well as the Democrats are pushing for the Balkanization of America into special interest groups, especially along cultural lines.
To wit, the support of the Republican Senators for the Shamnesty bills—all of them—in the face of the almost open rebellion of the citizenry.
The Republicans can only win in 2008 wuth a return to the theme of the 1980 election—a rebirth of freedom and a vision of America as the shining city on a hill. That American values are those that unite us and make us strong, not the catering to regional or racial factions.
And they have ten months to do it.
Ten months to find the guy that the party will willingly follow in a united fashion.
And, actually, at this stage of the game, there are actually only two months...
On the shamnesty issue, I'll stick with my "oblivious" observation. Certainly, the President and a few GOP senators actively favored the policy.
But I'd wager that the bulk of GOP support for the measure came from "go along to get along" senators. I.e., "oblivious senators".
Fortunately, when the consequences became apparent, a majority of the GOP senators came to their senses. And the GOP House had consistently opposed amnesty.