Recently, one of the big news items was that House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay was indicted by two grand juries on charges of violating campaign spending regulations. This event has brought to the forefront arguments from all kinds of observers, commentators, and analysts that, along with other problems that high-profile Republicans are facing, the Republican Party is in the midst of a slump and that if not addressed, could spell big trouble for them in next year’s congressional elections. As this article at The Economist points out,

Mr. DeLay’s indictment is not the only ethical problem hampering the Republicans. Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader, is being investigated about a stock sale he insists involved no inside information. Karl Rove, President George Bush’s chief strategist, is fighting accusations that he leaked the name of Valerie Plame, an undercover CIA agent. And Mr DeLay’s problems are not limited to Texas: a lobbyist chum of his, Jack Abramoff, has been accused of a variety of dodgy doings involving Indian casinos and influence-peddling. . . .

Today the conservative movement is in turmoil. Different types of conservatives are at each other’s throats. Everybody is hurling opprobrium at the president. David Brooks, a conservative columnist on the New York Times, recently declared that he sometimes wonders whether Mr. Bush is a Manchurian candidate -- sent to discredit conservatism.

The loudest howls are coming from small-government conservatives who are furious with Mr Bush’s loose spending. But business conservatives are furious about his love-affair with the religious right and traditional conservatives are furious about his commitment of blood and treasure to the Iraq war.

The article goes on to describe the various factions and schisms that supposedly currently exist among conservatives and Republicans. I say “supposedly” because while I welcome the bad fortune that has befallen Republicans in recent times, I know better than to underestimate how resilient they are.

My worst fear is that the more extreme factions of the party will use this period of chaos and uncertainty to grab even more power and consolidate their authority over Bush and the administration. This may sound like some bad made-for-TV movie, but I do not put it above their capabilities. If the liberal movement has a chance to win back control of this country, now is the time. Otherwise, the Republicans will veer even further to the extreme right and we will all pay the price.