In News from GOP HQ

Energized G.O.P. Looking to Avoid an Intraparty Feud: "Republicans emerged from Tuesday's elections energized by victories in Virginia and New Jersey, but their leaders immediately began maneuvering to avoid a prolonged battle with conservative activists over what the party stands for and how to regain power."

To that end...

Lindsey Graham warns GOP against going too far right: "The morning after Republicans lost an upstate New York House seat, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned that conservative activists will bring destruction to the Republican Party if they drive out moderate candidates across the country."

Again I'll note that when Lindsey Graham is your voice of reason, you know your party has gone off the rails.

Speaking of off the rails...

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-LOOKATME!) fancies herself a Fawkes-style insurrectionist:

[Bachmann] hopes to lead a small army of right-wing activists around Capitol Hill, in the hopes of derailing health care reform. But let's not lose sight of the context here—Bachmann has already referred to anti-reform activists as "insurgents" and "freedom fighters." Last night, she went a little further, encouraging conservatives to try to "scare" federal lawmakers.

...And when has Bachmann scheduled her Capitol Hill soiree? This afternoon—November 5—a date widely known as Guy Fawkes Night. (You know, "Remember, remember, the fifth of November.") In other words, Bachmann wants to rally right-wing activists, label them an "insurgency," and encourage them to roam the halls of Congress deliberately "scaring" members of Congress, on the infamous date that marks an attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

Meanwhile...

Republican voters currently view Mike Huckabee as their best chance for regaining the White House in 2012, with 71% saying they would "seriously consider" voting for him.

Why do I suspect that if Fox News had given a bag of vintage bologna its own nightly show, 71% of Republican voters would be "seriously considering" going bologna in 2012...?