In trying to understand the Republican Party’s internal battles, it helps to think of Michael and Sonny.
On one side we have Sonny, the hotheaded, impulsive, shoot-now-take-names-later son of Don Corleone. On Capitol Hill, he personifies the tea party followers who would rather die on principle than live to win a later day.
On the other side, we have Michael, the cooler-headed son and intellectual strategist. On the Hill, Michael represents the so-called establishment legislators who understand the way forward but thus far have been reluctant to pull the trigger.
That’s a metaphor, for all those literalists out there who may feel compelled to issue fresh gun-control imperatives. It means to take necessary, if unpleasant, action. Before action, however, there should be a plan, which has been demonstrably missing in recent weeks. Had there been a strategic, long-view plan, rather than a series of tactical blunders, Republicans might now be basking in the realization of a dream: Obamacare is a hot mess.
Remember the “train wreck” that Republicans kept promising? Well, guess what. It’s happening. The train is wrecking. And yet, rather than popping open the champagne as the Obamacare Web site crashes in a glut of glitches, Michael and Sonny are having a staring contest.
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