[BW2221]

"The fetus wing of the party is rabid. They are busy driving the mainstream of the party away."

It's interesting that people like you want to pin the blame for the 2006 loss on the GOP's right wing. The reason the GOP lost can be summed up in two words - George Bush.

I've run this a number of times but it bears repeating; a Pew Research Center exit poll from November:

"As expected, the election turned out in large measure to be a referendum on President Bush and the war in Iraq -- bad news for Republicans. About six-in-ten voters (59%) said they were either dissatisfied (30%) or angry (29%) with the president. By more than two-to-one, those dissatisfied with Bush supported the Democratic candidate in their district (69%-29%); among those angry with the president the margin was more than fifteen-to-one (92%-6%).

Bush was much more of a drag on his party's candidates than was former President Clinton in 1994, the year that Republicans won control of Congress. More than a third (36%) of the electorate said they voted to oppose Bush; that compares with 27% who voted to oppose Clinton in 1994, and 21% in 1998, the year Congress impeached the president."

[streetpreacher]

Yep. Bush is uninspiring as far as leadership goes, all of those "Day in the Life" threads notwithstanding.

[oceanview]

we barely won the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004. 537 votes in one state and a popular vote loss in 2000, a one state win where a 65K vote swing in one state would have sent it the other way, in 2004.