Borepatch finally reveals why he has been optimistic lately. Mind you, that is as rare as either Confucius* being upbeat about something or rain on the moon. Take your pick.

But BP seems a bit upbeat because he is sensing the same trend that many of us are spotting here at the Castle: Progressivism is in serious trouble. Maybe it started in 2006 with the arrival of the mostly-Progressive Congress, when Conservatives found that the Internet could carry both versions of a story. Since then, the Internet has largely been a series of horrifying revelations. Mainstream media is suffering: televised news = lowest ratings in history; newsprint = lowest readership ever. Bankruptcies in main stream media are astonishing. Meanwhile, so-called alternative news sources (such as the Web and AM radio) are enjoying record high ratings.

The country, slowly but surely, is starting to understand one thing: you aren’t nuts. Things really are bad, and the fault lines can be sharply drawn to out-dated theories that have become zombified. Made incarnate in 2008 with the election of Barack Obama, the zombie still reeks.

Two side bits that Borepatch did not have time to comment on: the recognition of this impending death has forced the Republicans to begin ousting Progressives from their own ranks. This could be, and should be, done a lot faster, but the primaries across the country show this anti-incumbent purge. Further, the whole Romney vs Santorum vs Gingrich three-way food-fight is all about who can become more conservative, when frankly all three have the odor of Progressivism on them to varying degrees. At least they seem to recognize it now.

Second, the Democrats—in large part thanks to the sabotaged campaign of Hillary Clinton—have recognized that they have lost control of their party. Progressives have completely taken over it by simple means: when you are the party of last resort, you tend to lack singular leadership focus. And when there is a lack of leadership, leadership will be supplied. No surprise: the Progressives sensed a power vacuum among the Democrats in the 1900s and moved right in to nibble away until the entire pantry needs to be condemned due to the infestation.

Moderate Democrats have begun to respond—Kucinich is out, for example—but they may not recover by this point without a tremendous reorganization. They have lost too much balance to the dirty tactics of the Progressives.

Anyway, Borepatch takes a neat angle on it mostly by mapping the rise and fall of Napoleon to Progressivism’s parallel rise and fall. Give it a look-see.

*For those who came in late, Confucius is the Gormogons’ Œcumenical Volgi.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.