Christie Whitman Blasts "Far Right" Republicans

The Associated Press got its hands on an advance copy of former Bush cabinet member Christine Todd Whitman's new book, and apparently she's decided not to go gentle into that good night. Her title alone speaks volumes: "It's My Party Too: The Battle for the Heart of the GOP and the Future of America." It's a "moderate" Republican's jeremiad, evidently: "A clear and present danger Republicans face today is that the party will now move so far to the right that it ends up alienating centrist voters and marginalizing itself," Whitman writes in the book.

The AP report says, "Whitman, who served as Environmental Protection Agency administrator for President Bush from 2001 until May 2003, also says in the book that she was often at odds with the White House on issues such as setting caps on air pollutants, controls on power plant emissions and the debate over global warming. Her tenure was marred by conservatives who felt she was too moderate."

Whitman and other Republican "moderates" like her -- bless their hearts -- have their work cut out for them, if they plan to exert their moderation on a party that seems now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American mullahs. Or vice versa. Either way, from the county-level to the national, the people in charge don't seem disposed to listen to anyone less extreme.