Check out three months of rightwing triumphs. Building on its self-inflicted, credibility-busting election debacle, the goon squad top dogs misfire with crude, cliff-dwelling blackmail. And now, as Karl Rove splices his reactionary millions across party primaries, alienating every Tea Partier worth the tea, LaPierre blasts ahead with his house of horrors, pandering to the same extremism that unnerves Rove's billionaires. And throughout, GOP leaders let the bedlam play on, without restraining NRA rants. Oh my, if this is the party's notion of "rebranding," then "bring it on" as the exiled W. often croaked. What did spineless Democrats ever do to deserve such free blessings?

What, No Assault Ban Against the NRA?

The winter of LaPierre's discontent darkens, for the more operatic his fulminations, the weaker his apparent leverage to protect the gun status quo. The unintended NRA impact on "the gun debate" (undermining this still formidable wedge) mimics what nutcases Akin and Mourdock did to their wedge favorite: they shot the "abortion debate" in the head. Who dreamed the two most divisive, gaseous barrages on America would self-destruct, or the NRA would torpedo old-time GOP religion?

All in all, party-wide fiascos remind us that GOP self-immolation as the "stupid party" continues apace, even accelerates. "Extremism in the defense of stupidity is no virtue," I say, shredding the lobbyist's own outlandish lying. Testing limits of ridicule, Wayne's world proves that "Derangement in the defense of the gun culture is no virtue," as NRA rebel yells echo George Wallace on segregation: "Gunfire now, gunfire tomorrow, gunfire forever." Let us, nonetheless, correct LaPierre's worst deviations from reality.

Four Retorts to NRA Grotesqueries

1) In Wayne's world, weapon-laden "good guys" are the only defense against "bad guys with guns." This battle cry died an instant death, didn't it? First, wouldn't that mean arming every teacher in every classroom -- all the time disregarding that Columbine had armed guards ? Wouldn't that lock out our gentlest teachers, suitable for our youngest munchkins? Second, if unstable serial killers, quick to dramatize outrage by mowing down the most defenseless, upgrade their automatic weapons (to offset fully-armed teachers), imagine the terrifying subsequent bloodshed. Finally, consider the astronomical costs for security, in multiple billions: oh, that's outsourced to private mercenaries, right.

2) WL: "we need to look at the full range of mental health issues, from early detection treatment, to civil commitment laws, to privacy laws that needlessly prevent mental health records from being included from the national list." Sure, this will delight the hate-big-government gang. Let us note: 1) the mentally aren't any more prone to violence than "sane" gun owners; and 2) the right, from W. through defiance of the Affordable Care Act, vetoes mental illness funding, especially proactive "intrusions" on our freedom.

Oh, the contradictions. Oh, the irony. Oh, the nutcases in power. As if guns aren't hard enough to regulate, let's authorize state bureaucracies to detect, then commit, all with sacrosanct secrecy? More prisons? Oh yeah, the astronomical costs, in multiple billions: right, outsourced to private operatives.

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