Tea leaves: Republican establishment still rules
Defying predictions from last year, early evidence suggests that party leaders and even most grass-roots activists are more interested in winning elections than in ideological bloodletting.
A spate of recent developments points to two conclusions about the modern Republican Party that were in doubt as recently as a few months ago.
The first is that for all the talk about tea party insurgents and fulminating radio and cable commentators taking over, the GOP remains above all an establishment party.
GOP leaders easily swatted down a proposed