Krugman nails it: 

Remember how the 2004 election was supposed to have demonstrated, once and for all, that conservatism was the future of American politics? I do: early in 2005, some colleagues in the news media urged me, in effect, to give up. "The election settled some things," I was told. 

But at this point 2004 looks like an aberration, an election won with fear-and-smear tactics that have passed their sell-by date. Republicans no longer have a perceived edge over Democrats on national security - and without that edge, they stand revealed as ideologues out of step with an increasingly liberal American public. 

One of the most predictable offshoots of the 2006 election was how many conservatives closed ranks to scapegoat key Republicans.  It reminds me of that scene in Downfall where just before the fall of Berlin, Hitler blames the German people for failing the test.  It is the mark of all radical ideologues facing failure to blame those around them for not being true enough to their core values.  In this case, supposed conservatives like Rush Limbaugh blamed the Bush admin for not being conservative enough – in other words, conservatives didn’t lose the election, Republicans did. 

Well, it turns out that – shocking, I know – Rush may have overstated American support for the conservative vision.  Republicans are increasingly losing control of their own base.  Mormon support, for example, has dropped 21% over the last five months.  Congressional Republicans are increasingly willing to thwart the Bush agenda and have even warmed to the idea of impeachment.  Hell, some conservatives have even voiced support for Jimmy Carter to replace Rice as Secretary of State! 

Meanwhile, it turns out that the American people are polling fairly progressively on the basis of issues.  Bigger government, universal health care, and inflating the middle class are all strongly supported by nearly 2-1 margins among the electorate and Democrats now hold nearly a double party ID advantage.  As Atrios notes, the GOP can keep trotting out people willing to publicly proclaim mainstream adherence to the conservative worldview, but much like their vision, it simply does not accord with reality.