Half a fisking

And only half, because I couldn’t follow the post past item #4.

Bill Kraus, writing at FightingBob.com:

A few things we now know for sure, or for pretty sure:

1. The vaunted Republican base cannot win elections.

Duh. Neither can the Democrat base. That’s why candidates try to appeal to the middle.

2. Covert, coded appeals to racial fears are not going to bring in a decisive number of voters anymore. George Wallace is dead and his followers are dying.

Someday, hopefully, lame wallowing about “covert, coded appeals to racial fears” – a.k.a. “covert, coded appeals to fear of being labeled racist” – will cease to bring in a decisive number of voters, too.

3. The theocratic strategy is a bad trade off. The remaining Republican moderates who have not already abandoned ship would have done so if the party had gone for Huckabee or even Romney this year, and the base would have lost even worse than it did.

There is no “theocratic strategy.” The 2008 election did not hinge on issues of life or marriage. And Sarah Palin, a staunch social conservative, brought immeasurable energy into the race and continues to be a favorite among Republicans of all stripes.

4. War weariness and military incompetence have trumped jingoism and xeonophobia [sic].

The War on Terror isn’t about “jingoism and xenophobia.” Never was. And even if it were, “war weariness” will always overtake whatever reasons we had for going to war in the first place. It takes a huge effort to stir our country to war - that kind of effort simply isn't sustainable over time.

The very fact that Kraus describes the war entirely as "jingoism and xenophobia," not to mention his references to George Wallace, racist code words, and theocracy, tell you just about everything important about his own political beliefs and his seriousness as a pundit.