Josh Marshall links to this fascinating (and none too sympathetic) big-picture piece by George Packer on the decline of the conservative movement and then adds some comments of his own. First of all, read the Packer piece -- it's full of historical perspective, but there's also a lot of insight into what thinkers on the right make of the current crisis.
Josh Marshall's comments go where you'd expect: looking at how the Democrats today look like the Republicans in decades past, suggesting parallels that might hint at what's coming. Maybe I'm a skeptic by nature, but it's hard for me to see Democrats as a movement right now; instead, it feels to me like they're simply reaping the benefits of huge mistakes on the other side. Suer, they're on the right side of a lot of important issues, but where is the coherent, compelling core message that explains who they are? I still have hopes that Obama will be the one to articulate that message, but it may be harder with McCain in the race.
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