"In other words, on the issues Americans are most worried about — reviving the economy, creating jobs and reducing the federal deficit — there's not much of a debate inside the GOP. There's a robust argument about just how much of the federal government to dismantle — Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry say they'd get rid of most of it, Mitt Romney only some of it — but to most voters, that's a narrow, sectarian divide. This year's Republican Party starts roughly where Ronald Reagan was in 1980 and extends rightward from there. It's a party with no discernible moderate wing.
"Yes, there are disagreements within the party on foreign policy (between hawks who want to stay in Afghanistan and budget-cutters who want to get out) and on immigration (not so much a debate as an opportunity to beat up Perry, who suffers under the handicap of actually having had to deal with the problem as governor of Texas). But those aren't the issues that will decide next year's election.
"That's what we've learned. What haven't we learned?"
Read the rest here.