I'm very skeptical of all this talk of the Dim party self-destructing and imploding. This was the same talk in 1998 or the Repubs. IMHO, both parties are trying to navigate without any better compass than public opinion polls which is no compass at all.
The prospect of Trent Lott as the Senate majority leader does not bode well for finding a guiding vision for the Repubs. As for me, I'm celebrating but with much restraint.
With you, aardvark1. It's great to see good things come to fruition, but socialism is like a hydra. It has many heads and forms that never die. Look at the USSR, Cuba, Korea - people are still talking about how great communism is, every proof to the contrary. And the EU is just pathetic - socialism will never catchup to capitalism because it is the glorification of mediocrity rather than the pursuit of perfection.
If by some strange chance, the Demo party dies, look for another party to form to take its place, or worse, a split off from the pubbies ("centrists") to fill the void.