According to analyst Charlie Cook, the republic will remain in the hands of the Republicans for at least another three years. That’s both houses of Congress. The White House, of course, isn’t in play this year, and it seems we’ll finally have a Republican Supreme Court soon, so that’s all three branches.

Some well-intentioned folks — even some Republicans — might object to this happy state of affairs, due to a general distrust of one-party rule. The GOP needs to be checked by an opposition party, they might say, to keep them from complacency. It’s a fair argument.

I might be inclined to agree, if the prospective opposition in question weren’t the modern-day Democratic Party. The “Tax-And-Surrender” party is not out of power because of some quirk of fate, but because their principles, such as they are, are odious. I would no sooner vote for a Democrat than for a Baathist. No, not even a “good” Democrat, like Zell Miller or Joe Lieberman. If they’re so good, how come they’re Democrats?

How, then to ensure Republican virtue? Until such time as a palatable opposition party emerges, we shall have to be content with primary elections as the means to keep individual Republicans on their toes.

This week, America will watch with revulsion as the minority party in the Senate attempts to slander Judge Alito on his way to his seat on the Supreme Court. Confirmation hearings used to be decorous and serious proceedings, but no longer. Alito will be confirmed, but America would be better served without the slander, and without the Democratic Party.