Sunday Reading: Rethug "Facelift Follies," Cont.

Here's Leonard Pitts, Jr., in the Miami Herald:

"Then there is Bobby Jindal. The Louisiana governor, widely considered a rising star of the GOP has, since the election, been preaching with evangelistic zeal that Republicans must 'stop being the stupid party.' [Ed. Note: thank you for the gift that keeps on giving, Gov. "Kenneth" Jindal!] Which could be a reference to Herman Cain, presumably still poring over a map looking for 'U-beki-beki-beki-becki-stan-stan.' Or to Michele Bachmann, perhaps still searching out terrorists in the office of the secretary of state. Or to any of a series of GOP candidates who made statements on rape so spectacularly ignorant they would stun even the men in those dusty places where wives are bought like cattle.

"So yes, signs are plentiful that something is afoot among the Republicans. But what does it mean?

"One might hope it signifies the party’s decision to abandon its alternate universe, offer reasonable alternatives to those voters not convinced that any one party or ideology has all the answers. One might hope it means an orderly retreat from the hard edge of coded racism, gay bashing, Mexican electrocuting, anti-intellectualism and fact avoidance that have been passed off as wisdom in recent years. One might hope it means a return of grown-ups, pragmatism, reason — and reasonableness.

"One might hope."

Steve M. over at No More Mister Nice Blog thinks he's seen this movie before, and that we shouldn't expect the Rethugs to be less radical -- only that they'll choose their targets for obstruction carefully:

"I think 2013 and 2014 are going to be a semi-rerun of 2009 and 2010. Reporters are being distracted by the shiny object of moderate-sounding pronouncements from presidential wannabes, and by Fox News dumping Sarah Palin and Dick Morris (never mind the fact that Fox is still welcoming the likes of Ann Coulter and Donald Trump, and offering a platform for the tirades of Ted Nugent).

"The biggest differences between 2013 and 2009 seem to be that the right isn't sending an angry army out into the streets, and that the GOP feels it can't be quite so blatant about its efforts to render Obama incapable of governing."

That sounds about right to us.