To the Republican Party: come back to the table of ideas. For nearly three years, fully half of our major party system has retreated from the front lines of rational debate in order to seek refuge in the cozy trench of delusion -- which, as it turns out, is an incredibly effective place from which to bombard your opponents. Whole volumes could be written about the cowardice of the Democratic Party, but at the very least they are bringing sensible ideas to the national discourse, particularly on the pressing issues of tax reform, economic stimulus, and long-term deficit reduction. What Republicans have discovered about this era of political media is that they can forestall any measure of progress, not by bringing a competing idea to the table, but simply by lighting the table on fire and counting on the likelihood that the Democrats' idea won't be shiny enough to locate amongst the ashes. This is a strategy that works, but it is nothing to be proud of.