When even HE is saying this...!

my theory is that the power brokers in the Republican Party despise the tea-party and the wealthy extremist nuts who are financing it. They cannot stop it and can't control it so they will let it run its course and destroy itself.

I don't think they intended the tea-party conservatism to take over the party; they just wanted to use it the same way they use the religious right to bolster their vote totals but they completely lost control over it due to wealthy ultra-wealthy right wing zealots being able to bankroll the movement.

Friedman is the crown prince of Republican orthodoxy and I think he's caught on to the tactic.

JMHO...

yours?

I, too, think Friedman and other Repug elites are on the verge of writing off 2012. It's like a repeat of 1964, when Goldwater's fanatics seized control of the GOP primaries and defeated the "establishment" candidate, Nelson Rockefeller, then went on to a crushing defeat. The GOP elites kind of stood back and let it happen, for the most part, hoping to purge the party of the loonies in that way. It worked, until 1980 at least. The difference is that unlike the Goldwaterites, the Tea Party has no particular favorite candidate to allow to be crushed; if, say, Santorum won the nomination, and was beaten by Obama in November, I don't think it would finish off the Tea Party. Its lack of a clear leader makes the Tea Party very resilient, in my opinion. I think the Repugs are in real danger of fracturing as a political party. I can hope so, at least.

I think, however, that the far right will coalesce around either Newt or Santorum at the convention and make them the de-facto leader of the tea-party

The use of 'Republican' is in this case redundant.

Which happens to be to port.

They unleashed and empowered their scallywags because scallywags is all they have. And now they have a mutiny on their hands.

Will Captain Romney heed Father Friedman's advice and find the courage to stand up to the mutineers, or will he be made to walk the plank for being a spineless landlubbing hornswaggler?

Stay tuned...

sure you intended no insult to real pirates by comparing these parasites (no offense to biologists) to pirates.

"Friedman is VERY LIBERAL"

I'm astonished that you're all lumping him in with the GOP.

He made the mistake of supporting the Iraq war as possibly transformative for the middle east, but other than that, he's definitely on the economic left.

I'm stunned with two "n"s. Anyone who shills for the 1% and speaks almost sexually for the wonders of Free Trade, offshore outsourcing and globalization as this asshat does is what I would call being on the polar opposite of "the economic left". Friedman couldn't be more clueless, non-caring and non-thinking when it comes to the problems and solutions American workers face in zero-sum globalization.

I'm curious, have you ever read any of his articles and/or books? It really doesn't sound like you have and I'm just wondering how you would come to a conclusion such as that.

He's absolutely a social liberal. He comes at economics from a mainstream approach.

until November when the cons have lost the white house,the house of reps and we gain seats in the senate.
If that does`nt happen with this pack of crazy anti americans running then all hope for this country is lost.

It's a one dimensional ratchet that can only go one way - right.

If Romney gets nominated, they lose, not as badly, but they lose. The Teabagger/Religious Right/Racist wing, blames the loss on moderates and compromise. GOP moves farther tight.

Gingrich or He-who-shall-not-be-googled get nomination, and the same gang of nuts gets more control over the party, purge anyoneone that doesn't get in line and they move further right.

The Republicans are locked themselves in a positive feedback loop of extremism that they cannot escape.

Rot In Peace

I mean really......

BUT, the cast of characters they are struggling with has to be demoralizing for them.