I remember when Christie Todd Whitman was elected governor of New Jersey and I correctly predicted that it was the end of the world as we then knew it. But it got worse.
I’m not talking about a battle between moderates and conservatives. The conservatives won that fight a long time ago. Our children may never believe that moderate Republicans once roamed the Earth, advocating policies that would limit carbon pollution and invest in scientific research, reform our schools and build new roads, promote national service, reduce the influence of money in politics, and require individuals who can afford health insurance to take responsibility for buying it. Soon enough, these politicians will exist only in the minds of ’90s-era pundits and Aaron Sorkin’s writing staff.
For the foreseeable future, I cannot imagine a Republican who could both win the party’s nomination and 270 Electoral Votes. That’s the good news. The bad news is that they will have enough power to make everything an insufferable grind.
