In life as in intense physical therapy after a grievous injury, temporary pain is often necessary for longterm recovery. I am starting to think that this government shutdown was not only inevitable, it is in the best interest of the country and particularly the Republican party. Allow me to explain myself. This current stalemate is not a rift between the Republicans and the Democrats, but rather a civil war within the Republican party. This shutdown is being led by only a handful of Republican representatives, nearly all junior and aligned with the Tea Party. The majority of Republicans have said they do not go along with it, and the Tea Party is turning on them as wrathfully as they are the Democrats. For the Tea Party, this shutdown is not a matter of political ideology, but rather good versus evil, and anyone who is not for them in this righteous quest is malevolently against them. This may be exactly what the Republican party needs--a fracturing that will allow the increasingly lunatic Tea Party wing to break away and form its own political base, distinct and separate from the GOP that give it birth. While this numeric calving will almost certainly wound the Republicans, probably robbing them of any control in Congress for a decade or more, it is a chance for the GOP to regroup, rediscover its prodigal soul and come back strong, honorable, thoughtful and worthy of respect, no longer encumbered by the sort of extremist, religiously affiliated wing that has utterly defined it for so long. I've often said that I look forward to the day when I can respect and, yes, even vote for a Republican again. But so long as people like Bachmann, Cruz, Gohmert, Cantor, Vittor, Barton, Broun, etc. hold the reigns of power, that is an impossibility.

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