Another post from our favorite political consultant, Brett:

Since Tuesday, I've watched as the leading lights and dimmest bulbs in the Republican Party (ed: Is there a difference?) explained to us what did not cause them to lose on Tuesday.

Ann Coulter took time away from committing voter fraud to call the gains made by the Democrats "pathetic" and stated that the public supports the Republican stance on the Iraq war. And yes, I agree, it is definitely time to up her dosage.

Karl Rove said Iraq was a hindrance, but Connecticut's support for Lieberman shows that the American people reject withdrawing from Iraq. I'm sure Nancy Johnson and Rob Simmons agree with that assessment.

And good old Rehab Rush said "it wasn't conservatism that lost," while George Will argued that Republicans "were punished not for pursuing but for forgetting conservatism.". So conservatism didn't lose, just dyed-in-the-wool conservatives like Rick Santorum, George Allen and J.D. Hayworth lost. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

Truthfully, all four of these comments, though laughable on their face, contain an element of truth. The Republicans didn't take a beating solely because of their Iraq policy or because of a political philosophy; they lost because their performance flat-out sucked. Whether it was Katrina, Iraq, Harriet Miers, ethics, the budget or passing legislation, the Republicans proved to possess much of the same talent that has made K-Fed such a rising star.

Hopefully, Republicans will continue to cling to the notion that a change in rhetoric or policy will cure what ails them. But we, like Britney, know better.