Whither GOP?

Republicans are finally acknowledging they will lose big on November 4. But what will they do next?

Republicans always play the "blame game" first. The most obvious blame falls on Sarah Palin, since every poll (and every newspaper endorsement) shows swing voters were completely turned off by her. But Palin didn't choose herself - McCain chose her. So once the polls close, Republicans will unanimously proclaim McCain a uniquely miserable candidate, ranking with Mike Dukakis in political tone-deafness.

But Republicans know their problems run far deeper than McCain. They know George Bush's economic and foreign policies were a a disaster in every single way. And it's not because Bush betrayed conservatism, it's because he embraced it 1000%.

So what will be the foundation of the Republican revival? It's impossible to imagine.

Just two years ago, Republicans got another "thumpin'" as Bush famously put it. Afterwards, Republicans emphatically agreed the party needed to "return to its roots." What exactly did they mean? Some vague concept of "fiscal conservatism" that would somehow lead to balanced budgets. But on the biggest fiscal issue of the past two years - wasting $10 billion per month in Iraq - they voted in lockstep with Bush. And then came the breathtakingly wasteful Paulson Plunder, which went from $700 billion to $850 billion (including huge subsidies for rum producers) with the full support of the GOP.

Without "fiscal conservatism," what's left for the GOP? Just bigger tax cuts for the rich, packaged in false promises for those delusional enough to think they're rich or soon will be - like Joe the Plumber. P.T. Barnum famously said "a sucker is born every day," but thankfully there are only 365 days in a year so the total U.S. supply of suckers is barely enough to elect a mayor of Wasilla - or fill an Eagle's nest.