The fall of the GOP

The WRA editorializes on the fall of the GOP:

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., framed the mission best: "Republican efforts to build a governing majority through spending and earmarks have ended in disgrace. The Republican Party can restore its identity as the party of limited government or go the way of the Whigs. When Republicans decide to come home to the timeless conservatism present at our founding, the conservatism of Abraham Lincoln ... and the conservatism of Ronald Reagan that won the Cold War and led to unprecedented prosperity, they know where to find us."

During my 35 years, I don't recall any elected official invoking the Whigs.

Tim White