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In my opinion, the GOP in late 2008 reminds me most of the Labour Party in England in the early 1980s. The Labour Party at that time found itself out of touch with the rest of England in part because it was wholly captive to its strongest constituencies - especially unions. In 1983, they put forward the Labour Party election manifesto (which actually matters in the U.K., as opposed to the utterly ignored party platforms here in the U.S.) which clearly reflected their far-left, out-of-touch views. In a perfect example of dry British humor, the manifesto has been known ever since as "the longest suicide note in history."
As you probably know, Thatcher thereafter entrenched her position in Parliament and stayed there for many more years. Labour didn't recover until a new generation of leaders (i.e. Blair and Brown), no longer utterly beholden to the traditional Labour constituencies and willing to embrace new ideas, emerged.
As I see it, the GOP is Labour in '83. The party has become regional - strong in much of the deep south, but weakening everywhere else - and hasn't come to grips with changing times, changing demographics, and the out-of-touch failures of conservative governing over the last decade. As moderate GOP representatives are picked off all over the map, the remaining elected members are all hard-core ideologues who truly believe that their real problem is not being right-wing enough.
Obviously, these situations aren't exactly alike, and I have no idea what the future holds. But if Labour's history serves as an example, the GOP is going to have to take a long look at itself during an extended time out of power and emerge with new leadership and innovative ideas.
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"You have reached Ritual Sacrifice. For goats press one, or say 'goats.'"
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