Quotes of the Day

The Republican bloodbath has begun. Say goodbye to Colin Powell, who turned away from the party the Bush family helped build. Columnist Kathleen Parker has been drowning in hate mail since calling for Sarah Palin's head. Chris Buckley, the son of the late William F. Buckley Jr., went AWOL and lost his position at the National Review. Before the party can reclaim its soul, the unbelievers within must be cast out.

When removed from power by voters, no party keelhauls itself quite like the GOP. The party's success at capturing the White House is matched by a violent, burn-it-all-down mentality when it loses. Because John McCain's defeat seemed likely for weeks, the fighting began long before Election Day. Some Republicans believe that the old conservative message must be modernized. Others see a need to return to the conservatism of old. For many, Palin was a godsend, a true populist in the spirit of Ronald Reagan. For others, she was a nightmare. With no leader in sight, factions are maneuvering behind the scenes to assign blame and take control. "It's not going to be business as usual," says Richard Viguerie, a 75-year-old direct-mail wizard who joined the conservative movement before becoming a foot soldier for Barry Goldwater. "There are going to be just some massive battles for the heart and soul of the Republican Party." (See pictures of John McCain's campaign farewell.)

Economic conservatives like Grover Norquist, who hate government and taxes above all, see a return to first principles as the solution. "Bush deviated from the Reagan Republican vision in spending, regulation and in empire," he says, before delivering a backhanded slight to McCain: "We know that when you run as Reagan, it works." Norquist's rebel army is backed by the power gabbers of right-wing talk like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. They blame the Republican catastrophes of 2006 and 2008 on a party that abandoned its values. The party, not its ideology, failed, goes their mantra. It therefore stands to reason that Republicans must return to their core tax-cutting, low-spending ideology, or else die. "The party had better be what the party is, or I don't have any future in it," Limbaugh tells his audience, which often numbers nearly 20 million weekly.

Others think differently. "We are going to have a back-to-basics urge, and that is going to be exactly the wrong thing," says David Frum, who works at the American Enterprise Institute, one of several brain trusts of conservative thought. "The Reagan chapter is a finished chapter." To Frum's thinking, the issues that built the Reagan coalition — crime, welfare, taxes and the Cold War — have faded. Better now to draft policies that address the new concerns of the middle class: economic stagnation, environmental protection and health-care reform. "It's pretty hard to go back to the old Republican arguments," says Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., who chaired the Republican Party for most of the 1980s. "The American people are looking for change that works."

Meanwhile, out in the states, Republican governors blame the folks at the top of the party for destroying the GOP brand through their ineptitude and graft. There is concern that Democrats not only have a better sales pitch but also that they are using better technology to attract money and turn out voters. "After 2006," says South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, "we put the same leadership back in place. It's just insane. In the corporate world, you would not do that." If Republicans claim to be the reform party of small government, Sanford says, they must first stop seeing their appropriators convicted of felonies. "You have a lot of members of Congress who are not upholding what this brand is about." (Read "Congressional Races to Watch '08.")

Short of ideas and running low on cash, Republicans are in need of new leaders. South Carolina party chair Katon Dawson, a probable candidate for the national chairmanship, will be hosting a meeting of state leaders in Myrtle Beach later this month. Republican governors, a group that includes such potential 2012 presidential candidates as Sanford, Utah's Jon Huntsman Jr. and Louisiana's Bobby Jindal, plan to meet in Florida. Social conservatives, a faction that Mike Huckabee is positioning himself to lead, were scheduled to caucus in Virginia. No one is quite sure yet whether Palin will become the darling of one of these armies or simply the new Dan Quayle. Luckily for Republicans, the Democrats will still be around to unite them eventually. "We'll see what fights the left wants to pick," explains Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, who has been rolling out new policy ideas. "I think 2010 will be a great year."

See the screwups of Campaign '08.

See pictures of the world reacting to Obama's win.

• Michael Scherer