The Republicans have just about given up

The election seems largely academic at this point (jinx jinx). Republicans are openly deriding McCain. The VP also rans decided to take their shots yesterday with Mitt Romney musing about "the very real possibility of an Obama presidency." and Tim Pawlenty giving McCain all the hope of a dead dog in Minnesota saying Obama "has a pretty good advantage in Minnesota right now." They're still both in disbelief that Palin was chosen over them, it's caused some real soul searching. Both of them thinking "I can't actually be worse than her...can I?" Don't worry guys, you aren't, but you are horrible in your own ways. People within the party are also reacting poorly to VP also ran Charlie Crist keeping early voting open in Florida each day for 12 hours instead of 8, thinking it'll kill McCain's chances there. That's nice, at least they're admitting that full, open, legal voting and increased poll access is intensely damaging to Republican prospects.

Party hacks are openly conceiving of re-branding and rebuilding the party after McCain loses in secret meetings that "accidentally" get leaked to the press to rub McCain's nose in shit. Some wish to actually bring back the big tent and actually work to include moderates by hewing to actual conservative principles instead of "whatever Cheney and the crazies want" as a guiding philosophy. Others just want to anoint Palin the empress of light and start killing the last remaining Republicans with a sense of shame or decency, possibly just hitting people who wear glasses on the head with big rocks and making sure the big tent incorporates views ranging from the far right all the way to 30's style fascist right to a belief system based around grunted threats and large wooden clubs. Apparently the US yearns for an administration even further to the right than this one. Good luck.

I'm sure McCain is so glad they're all out there working for him, making all these helpful statements. He's totally probably not going to kill himself after he loses.