Thursday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) convenes today here in DC. It's the biggest gathering of the most extreme of the right wingers and convenes with a speech from the leader of the GOP, Rush Limbaugh.

This year, CPAC is meeting against the backdrop of a Republican Party on the verge of civil war. We've got the RNC Party Chair threatening "retribution" against three GOP Senators. We've got GOP governors fighting among themselves -- and one of them attacked the GOP congressional leaders as "inconsequential" (which is true, but harsh coming from one of their own.) And, then we've got Jindal. More than anything, his speech exposed a huge rift in the GOP. Most of them loved his speech, but there was some very vocal disapproval. That led to another round of GOP in-fighting and forced Rush to defend Jindal. This GOP fratricide is getting really ugly. It's quite amazing just how out in the open their battles have become. How fun.

I'll probably wander over to the Omni to check out CPAC today or tomorrow. It's a frightening gathering, sort of like a bad movie featuring a cast of braindead clones intent on destroying those who don't think or look like them.

On to the news...