Enough Americans registered their distaste of the corrupt Republican Party in 2006 that the Republicans lost their majority in both the House and the Senate.

One immediate consequence was the sacking of Donald Rumsfeld, which came 6 years too late. I rejoiced then. In his place, we have the sane Robert Gates. It’s sad that sanity is now something we have to celebrate, rather than take for granted, in a Secretary of Defense, but I’ll take what I can get.

The other consequence is this. Even the devout have lost their faith because of the issue of immigration. Last year, when Congress first tried to pass an immigration bill, it died only because the House Republicans stood their ground. The Senate and Bush all wanted amnesty. Without the House Republicans, no one stands in the way of immigration reform.

Noonan blames Bush, but the power-worship would’ve continued unabated if not for the Republican loss in 2006. Now they may open their eyes and look at the damage that has been wrought.

The party, hopefully, is now torn asunder.

Shakes. The ground is now beginning to shift while for years all we felt were rumbles. The best, the worst, is still yet to come. The shakes will become full-blown earthquakes. The ground will crack; the tectonic plates will shift; and things will never be the same.