try to focus on what's happening to those screechers today. That party is bursting apart at its seams, its conservative backbone having decamped as it's become an embarrassment to self identify as Republican and the disparate group of crazy people left out of Reagan's unholy coalition are starting to fight each other over party purity, which they mistake for unity.

If they field a presidential candidate in 2012, it's not going to be much of a presidential candidate. All the presentable ones have retired, died off, become leery of entering the fray, or are exemplified by the befuddled McCain. The closest thing they have to a typical Republican with star power is Palin, and she's building consensus that she's unfit for much of anything, especially high office.

Yes, no matter what any Democrat does, the remaining Republicans will scream their silly heads off. Wise people will sniff derisively as their power fades and the screamers will no longer be able to block anything.

It would be a great help, of course, if the new Senate fields a Majority Leader who is willing to play hardball and tell Republicans throwing filibuster hissy fits that they need to get down on the floor and start talking or business will proceed as usual without their consent. The best way to get the filibuster returned to a sane tactic is to force the tantrum throwing GOP actually to do them.

In other words, it's not as hopeless as it was 20 years ago, 30 years ago or 40 years ago. The great pendulum in the sky is moving toward the left again and the right is out of ideas, out of stars, out of thinkers, and generally out of gas. In addition, their grand ideas have been proven to be dismal failures, yet again.

This too shall pass, as anyone who has ever been constipated knows.