In its entire 161 year history, the Chicago Tribune has never endorsed a Democratic candidate for President of the United States - until today.

You may have seen this little tidbit of news.  Christopher Buckley, son of William F. Buckley, has resigned from the National Review after endorsing Barack Obama.  In the article he says the following:

"While I regret this development, I am not in mourning, for I no longer have any clear idea what, exactly, the modern conservative movement stands for. Eight years of "conservative" government has brought us a doubled national debt, ruinous expansion of entitlement programs, bridges to nowhere, poster boy Jack Abramoff and an ill-premised, ill-waged war conducted by politicians of breathtaking arrogance. As a sideshow, it brought us a truly obscene attempt at federal intervention in the Terry Schiavo case. 

"So, to paraphrase a real conservative, Ronald Reagan: I haven't left the Republican Party. It left me."

If, as it seems likely, the Republican party gets slammed on November 4, there will undoubtedly be much wailing and gnashing of teeth, not to mention finger-pointing as they try to sort out what went wrong with their "movement".  It seems to me that if they want to know what went wrong, Buckley just pointed it out to them:  they've betrayed pretty much every conservative principle they ever stood for.

As to where they go from here, it's anyone's guess.  A schism seems likely.  The various factions will inevitably blame each other and it may take a few years before a new coalition forms, but coalitions are born of necessity, and being out of power will provide the sort of kick in the pants they need to get rid of the more parasitic elements.

In the meantime, the Democrats have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do big things without Republican obstruction.  The window will be short.  Don't blow it, guys.