In a scant seven weeks the “loyal opposition” to the Obama Administration from Republicans and conservatives has become a full-fledged meltdown into nihilism, ironically giving life to the old New Left mantra—“ let the system collapse so we can rebuild it.”

In the weeks following the inauguration one could see the early imprint of Party message-makers in the debate over the stimulus package. In short order, what should have been an important conversation and debate about a creative response to the failing economy turned into a slough of slogans reflecting a position of sheer obstructionism. As if the tired old “no new taxes” response in the midst of the worst financial meltdown in generations were not enough, Party wordmeisters proffered “generational theft” as their most creative response to the stimulus package and put the new slogan into the hands of “loyal opposition” leader John McCain. Repeated incessantly in the following days, it took on a tone of irony—an aging generation of out-of-touch Party leaders in a callous obstructionist mode bereft of new ideas to address the collective, Congressional plundering of the public trust and treasury.

Then the Rushians waded into battle, accelerating the slide from obstructionism to nihilism. The nation’s Bloviator-in-Chief stated unequivocally that he wanted Obama to fail, and his adoring followers got into lock-step march with him. The Bloviator so shook up the Party itself that its new Chair went from scold to apologist within a few days and Party leaders—instead of addressing the nation’s crises—stuck their fingers into the air to detect whether the right(eous) wind blew from a single-source emission or from the ground itself. Meanwhile, the leaders themselves marshaled a brief defeat to the Obama budget, posted new warnings on health care reform, blasted the President for his partisanship, and posted danger signs on virtually any and all initiatives emanating from the White House. The meltdown into nihilism—“let Obama fail so we can regain control”–had begun.

Not to be outdone by Rush himself, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachman declared that Obama is making the “final leap to socialism.” Her assessment was echoed by Tennessee Congressman Zach Wamp and then the ever-ebullient Alan Keyes—Obama’s 2004 Republican opponent for the Senate—closed the meltdown with his trenchant “Obama is a radical communist” comment and warned that the President must be stopped lest America die. Keyes’ comments ought to make the Secret Service take note.

The President is by no means above criticism, even after these scant seven weeks; the Democratic Congress is hardly a hotbed of good and righteousness and (ever-elusive) bipartisanship. But the Republican slide from “loyal opposition” to obstructionism to nihilism in response to the President’s initiatives is appalling… and increasingly costly to the Party itself. By last weekend the talking heads were trying to reduce the damage, isolate the Rushians, steel Steele, and chart something of a changing course that would curb the dramatic drop in their poll numbers.

If there were ever a time in this nation for constructive, creative debate emanating from its principle political poles it is now. The Rushians must be—and will be—isolated as they continue the entertainment- and ego-driven drive into irrelevance, but it will not be soon enough if more level heads in the Republican Party do not take swift action in reformulating their approach to the Administration, an approach that should be grounded not in sound-bites and silly slogans, but in the deep and considered debate that would do more to advance their own and the nation’s interest than anything we’ve seen so far.

The nation is in peril and nihilism is not an option.