The Michael Steele trainwreck is a thing of the near past, and his misdeeds are now eclipsed by a double wallop: An expensive fundraiser for GOP freshmen Congress people, and what at least is being speculated on as being a warming towards the LGBT community.

One of the better ways to judge where the people paid to maintain seats in Congress think things are going is by monitoring the campaign spending by the leading political committees. Their judgments are not always correct – the $3 million to Tammy Duckworth in 2006 is a good example – but because candidates often need the outside support, where the money is going, and especially where it’s NOT going, makes a difference.

One of the better ways to judge where the people paid to maintain seats in Congress think things are going is by monitoring the campaign spending by the leading political committees. Their judgments are not always correct – the $3 million to Tammy Duckworth in 2006 is a good example – but because candidates often need the outside support, where the money is going, and especially where it’s NOT going, makes a difference.

The GOP should just step away from the peyote. George Bush will never be popular. Ever.