A scary John Birchers soundtrack playing in the background

A month ago, my gut feeling was that the Republican hierarchy and conservative punditocracy would pander to Tea Party sentiment until the midterms and then steer a more moderate path. This excellent piece by Ron Rosenbaum suggests otherwise. We know there’s going to be a Republican takeover today but exactly what kind of Republicans will be taking over? And where are the level-headed conservatives who will point out that rage is an emotion, not a political strategy?

Here’s Rachel Maddow on how William F Buckley and the Republican leadership sensibly rejected the John Birch Society in 1965 versus current conservatives’ willingness to embrace the lunatic fringe.

And here’s the Dylan song it’s named after, complete with strange picture of penguins: