Stalemate

CQPolitics offers up a story looking towards the CPAC convention. Writer Shawn Zeller reviews the deep divisions within the Republican party, and wonders if they can be overcome. It's only been a few months since the general election, but one of those divisions remains the reason why so many Republicans lost their seats in November: some "believe the GOP just needs to deliver its message more effectively and [others] think demographic changes will eventually compel Republicans to moderate their rhetoric" (Zeller). Many continue to reject the idea that Deomcrats increased their majority--and gained the presidency--because of demographic or ideological shifts, case in point:

“I’ve never bought into the post-election analysis that somehow the country has changed,” said Bobby Eberle, GOPUSA’s publisher. “It’s the same country. They just saw Republicans turn away from what got them to power, so they voted them out.” (Zeller).

Sigh. It's unlikley that the CPAC meetup will result in any softening of this stance. Indeed, in a such a self-affirmative environment, chances are that attendees will harden in their belief that if only Republicans were more conservative, we wouldn't be in a situation where Pelosi and Reid were majority leaders and Obama the president. Will--or can--the moderates and conservatives recapture their coalition, or is any hope of resolution between the groups history?