More GOP handwringing

I know it seems like piling on, after today’s backlash against Bobby Jindal, but I’m increasingly convinced that the Beltway Media isn’t offering a clear picture of the Republican Party’s struggles.

The instinct in Washington is to report stories in a tit-for-tat way: “Get both sides of the story,” is the oldest reportorial commandment there is.

But what do you do when the story is that one side of the story is collapsing? What do you do when one part of the argument has been reduced to angry mutters?

Think I overstate the case?

Consider these data points:

1. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is feuding with fellow Kentucky Senator, Jim Bunning, who in turn is feuding with NRSCC chairman John Cornyn (R-TX.) According to The Hill newspaper, Bunning is accusing his colleagues of dishonesty and threatening to sue his own party. Bunning is seen as deeply vulnerable and could lose a cherished Southern seat to a Democrat next year.

2. In an interview with the Washington Times, Utah’s Republican governor, Jon Huntsman, called the Republican Party’s House leadership “inconsequential, completely.” He described the GOP as “gasping for air” and said the party needs “real ideas that put the country first, instead of party.”

3. Two of the GOP’s “Big Three” governors, Charlies Crist from Florida and Arnold Schwarzenegger from California, embraced the Democratic stimulus plan. These two governors represent more citizens than all the other Republican governors combined. Crist campaigned openly against his party and Schwarzenegger urged Republicans to be “team players” — on President Obama’s team.

4. Despite the popularity of the stimulus plan, Republican leaders are talking openly of challenging GOP lawmakers who supported it in next year’s primaries. Target #1 appears to be Arlen Specter (R-PA), a moderate who may be the last man in Pennsylvania who can keep his seat out of the hands of the Democrats.

5. Yes, Bobby Jindal has become an issue. He’s not Sarah Palin, but his performance this week was profoundly disappointing to anyone looking for fresh ideas, fresh energy, or keener political instincts. Conservative columnist David Brookes, in a post-speech interview, called Jindal’s message “insane.” The question: Where is the GOP’s bench?

6. And finally, there’s the empty playbook. This week, the conservative Weekly Standard ran an essay arguing that conservatism isn’t dead. Never a good sign when a once-powerful movement is insisting that it has a pulse. Even worse when your arguments are unconvincing. To understand just how bleak the philosophical landscape has become for the GOP, you have to actually read the article. Really. No excerpt can do it justice.

And so here I beat my drum again: We need a stout, responsible, tuned-in Republican Party. Now perhaps more than ever.

So far, there’s absolutely no sign that one exists at the national level.

(Okay, no more GOP hand-wringing for at least a week, I promise.)