And the Base is beginning to figure it out.

Kevin Drum quotes Tucker Carlson: "It's pandering to the base in the most cynical way, and the base is beginning to figure it out."

There are a number of liberals and Democrats looking for the breakup of the Republican coalition, looking for the evangelicals to desert the secular, corrupt plutocrats, they chose for leaders. And, secular Republican shills, who report on the cynical way Rove and his associates regard the evangelicals, are trotted out. There's much talk about how the evangelicals may be discouraged and stay home on election day.

Yeah, right.

The conservative evangelicals are who they are, because they are deeply committed to never, ever figuring anything out.

Bill Moyer hosted a documentary the other night on PBS about evangelical environmental activism. This was not about anyone figuring anything out. It was about the tribe adopting a new stance and organizing activity. It was authoritarianism in motion.

There's some chance that the leadership of the evangelicals will decide to turn in another direction, which leaves the Republican Party floundering. But, there is no chance that evangelicals are going to spontaneously realize that Bush is a mean, stupid, corrupt bastard.