The politics of fear

I have been starting to do some reading about the candidates and party lines and such for the election this year, and I am feeling that familiar surge of liberal pride, but at the same time, I can't help but feel somewhat discouraged...  On one side, there are things that this administration is doing that I do not agree with, and I believe that our representatives in congress are wasting way too much time talking, and spending little to no time actually doing.  So my extreme belief in this new wave, the "politics of hope" is waning somewhat.  It is tempered by the knowledge that these things are hard, and that the shiny newness of someone who was not only a charismatic speaker, but a brilliant man, and an honorable one was bound to wear off at some point.

But the bulk of my disappointment is, as usual, directed at the republican party.  They were told in no uncertain terms in November of 2008 that we didn't much care for their particular brand of divisive, fear mongering politics, and that we were going in another direction.  When that happened to the democrats in 2004, our party took it as a chance to somewhat re-invent itself.  While no political party is going to make all its members happy all the time, they at least made an effort to understand what we wanted to see in a candidate.  That effort shows itself clearly in our president.  So, the republicans have the opportunity to do the same thing now.  They have the chance to get back to the core ideals of the party, to find out what the members really care about.  A chance to turn down the noise.  And yet, they are maintaining their same tactics...  Refusing to vote for democrat led initiatives, even when everyone wants the same thing, eschewing bipartisanship in its every form, and campaigning, yet again, on the politics of fear. 

Do they truly not realize that even though the nation is frustrated by the lack of action on the part of the current administation and democratic congress, this is not an endorsement for their horrible, broken brand of politics???