David Brooks discusses the "Palin spasm" and the return of the Republicans as a "governing party."

Courtesy of The New York Times:  

Every party in opposition goes a little crazy. For Republicans in the early Obama era, insanity took the form of the Sarah Palin spasm. Veteran politicos took the former Alaska governor seriously as a national figure. Republican primary voters nominated the likes of Todd Akin, Christine O’Donnell and Sharron Angle. Glenn Beck seemed important enough to hold a big rally at the Lincoln Memorial. 

Fortunately, serious parties eventually pull back from the fever swamps. That’s what’s happening to the Republican Party. It has re-established itself as the nation’s dominant governing party. Republicans now control 69 of 99 state legislative bodies. Republicans hold 31 governorships to Democrats’ 18.

When the next Congress convenes in January, Republicans will have their largest majority in the House of Representatives since 1931; they will have a majority in the Senate, dominate gubernatorial power in the Midwest, and have more legislative power nationwide than anytime over the past century. 

Republicans didn’t establish this dominant position because they are unrepresentative outsiders. They did it because they have deep roots in four of the dominant institutions of American society: the business community, the military, the church and civic organizations. 

Brooks goes on to make the case that the Republicans elected in this cycle are more representative of the types of Republicans that came before the"Palin spasm."

In the end it sums it up thusly: 

During the Palin spasm, Republicans seemed to detest the craft of governing. Hothouse flowers like Senator Ted Cruz preferred telegenic confrontation to compromise and legislation. 

But current party leaders are talking about incremental progress, finding areas where they can get bipartisan support: on trade, corporate taxes, the XL oil pipeline, the medical devices tax, patent reform, maybe even tax reform generally.

I have to admit that I am not nearly as convinced that the Republicans are really prepared to put partisan differences aside to get some things accomplished for the good of the country, but I certainly do agree that the "Palin spasm" does appear to be over.

Of course the viral infection that caused the spasms is not yet convinced that her poison is no longer coursing through the veins of the body politic, and it may take another cycle or two for her to realize that her time is done and for her to fade completely from public awareness.

But that time is certainly coming. That much is for sure.