When Republicans attack … each other

They have the White House, both chambers of Congress, a majority of state governors, they dominate the judiciary, and they’re coming off an election in which things got better for them, not worse.

That, coupled by a congenital proclivity towards being nice to one another in public (Reagan’s 11th Commandment), suggests all should be well in GOP land. So why is it the Republicans seem to ganging up on each other more and more? These items jumped out just by perusing the news this morning:

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) is feuding with über-lobbyist Grover Norquist.

Mr. Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, has criticized Mr. Huckabee for signing a sales-tax increase, though Mr. Huckabee said he was only responding to a court order to put more money into the state’s schools.

“Grover’s never been in government, doesn’t have to balance a state budget, never had a state constitution forcing him to deal with a balanced budget,” Mr. Huckabee said at a meeting with editors and reporters from The Washington Times.

“Grover’s never been in a situation where he couldn’t borrow money so he didn’t have to raise taxes or tell old people he’s just going to take them out of the nursing home and drop them on the curb,” he continued. “If Grover wants to run for governor, there’s an election next year in Arkansas. He can get his residency requirements lined up. And there are 36 other states he can run in next year,” the governor offered.

Anonymous Bush aides are badmouthing Ari Fleischer.

Yesterday, an adviser to President Bush scoffed at the book’s claim that Fleischer was reluctant to join Bush’s front-running 2000 campaign – and had to be “convinced” by top adviser Karen Hughes – after Fleischer’s candidate, Elizabeth Dole, dropped out in late 1999. Fleischer writes, “Karen Hughes asked me to move to Austin to work for Governor Bush on his race. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it.”

My Bush source, however, told me: “After the Dole campaign imploded, Ari was working the phones hard looking for another campaign job. At the same time the Bush camp was looking for a flack with extensive Washington experience – something that was lacking in Austin. It was Mary Matalin (whom Ari doesn’t even mention) who suggested him to Karen and the only reason he got the job. Far from being reluctant, Ari jumped at the chance.”

The Weekly Standard’s Stephen Moore is disparaging the president.

When President Bush hinted last week that he might be willing to raise the payroll tax cap to “pay for” Social Security reform, he opened the door to the largest federal tax increase endorsed by a Republican since George Bush Sr.’s “read my lips” debacle 15 years ago…. This was a strategic blunder of the first order.

And every conservative in DC hates Arlen Specter.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter’s early statements on how to deal with President Bush’s judicial nominees have already upset conservatives who tried to prevent him from winning the chairmanship.

[…]

“There’s a lot of nervousness among conservative groups, though, about whether Specter will really behave himself,” said Stephen Moore, president of the Free Enterprise Fund. “This is going to be a continuing problem for Republicans — as these judicial fights really heat up, it may be that Republicans rue the day that they made Specter chairman.”

Can’t they all just get along? Much to my relief, apparently not.