Steve Gilliard swings the Big Blog Wood.

Again.

I've not seen the wheels, cams, fuel and fragility of the GOP machine explained better or more succinctly.

Here's half:

I know some of you expect the GOP to save their asses one more time, to pull some rabbit out of some hat. And they may do it, politics can change overnight, and the GOP has the ability to get their word out. But I wouldn't bet on it.

The Republican revolution was built on a house of cards, people who were small businessmen, Washington insiders and academics. Given training and marching orders, they said the right things to get elected, as the Dems had to fumble. The GOP addressed the concerns of people by speaking their language. As Democrats were lured to the ideology of Nader and the Greens, the GOP was refining their message.

Conservatism was the credo, but it really was the cover for a whole host of ideologies and beliefs, from liberterianism to dominionism. What kept it together was success. As long as they kept moving forward, they could continue to hold the coalition together. Which is why gays could feel comfortable pushing economic issues while ignoring social conservatism.

The network of thinktanks and other organs outside government served as the incubator and holding pen for the conservative movement.

However, there was a massive weakness in the GOP machine. Karl Rove knew how to exploit that weakness and turn it into a strength. He created the image of George Bush as a godly man, a redeemed good 'ol boy.

The Democrats didn't see this as a success of method, but of ideology, which it most certainly wasn't. The GOP papered over ideology, or paid lip service to it, while amassing more power. The Clintonistas never understood how vicious the GOP would or could be. They would devour their leaders as quickly as their enemies. They had no sense of propriety or judiciousness. Clinton was the source of all liberal evil.

Even though the Clintons were moderates at best, they were depicted as libertines, Bill, a negroish satyr, Hillary a domaneering lesbian. It was the kind of shorthand depiction of evil that they could use and not waste time explaining. Hillary was the enemy of the NASCAR dad, the evil bitch with too much smarts and not enough pussy, at least for her man.

The Dems, who were used to ideological debates, were stunned at the level of the debate here. They kept using rational arguments and logic, while the GOP was reaching into people's hearts and biases. A lot of the wingnuttery really played into preformed biases like hatred of gays and outsiders. They didn't have to reach into their race card as much, because they were touching other issues.

Oh, race was there, but it was a different context. It wasn't that the niggers were going to rob you, but those niggers were going to rob you. With hispanics, they sold values, but with white moderates and foolish blacks, they wanted to create an alternative black leadership network. They wanted to denigrate not just the activists, but even the centrist NAACP. It was a concerted effort to break the back of black leadership in the US.

The same thing with the faith-based patronage scam. They were going to buy the preachers and expect the parishoners to follow. Not realizing that the preacher just ran the place, not the women who led it.

All of this, every ounce of it, relied upon the arrogant Bush turning into a man of faith. Not too overt, but with a dog whistle here and there, Bush could play religion like a fiddle.

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Click here for the other half.

Gilly really does crush this stuff over the center field wall more often than most any other bloggiste.