Attack of the radical clerics

Republicans, who came to power in large part by promising an American form of sharia, are now being held to account by the religious right's self-elected leaders. What a surprise. I mean, as the Iraq war can now safely be called "quagmire," as we enter into another hurricane season, as gasoline prices start to take their toll on the economy, as global warming's dire warnings fast become a reality, as North Korea quietly assembles nuclear weapons and Iran loudly demands their own -- with a Republican-controlled federal government unable to attend to any of these issues -- the fundamentalist clerics demand ACTION on the PRESSING ISSUES of our DAY: amendments banning teh gay marriage, stem cell research, and taking minors over state borders for abortions.

You get the point.

Well, GOP, when you spend every election throwing red meat to these nuts, don't be surprised when they've become addicted to heavy rations of protein.

As for the story itself, I tend to cut the Times and other papers quite a bit of slack when it comes to citing anonymous sources, but this is ridiculous:

Republican officials, who were granted anonymity to speak publicly because of the sensitivity of the situation, acknowledged the difficult political climate but said they planned to rally conservatives by underscoring the contrast with Democrats and emphasizing the recent confirmations of two conservatives to the Supreme Court.

Underscoring the difference between Republicans and Democrats is somehow a sensitive, secret topic that warrens granting anonymity? That's stupid and lazy. If the reporter can't get a Republican to say that on the record, they shouldn't bother to type it, let alone run it through spell check.