"George W. Bush destroyed the Republican Party"

Peggy Noonan excoriates President Bush in the Wall Street Journal.

... George W. Bush destroyed the Republican Party, by which I mean he sundered it, broke its constituent pieces apart and set them against each other. He did this on spending, the size of government, war, the ability to prosecute war, immigration and other issues...

Riiiight. He "broke its constituent pieces apart and set then against each other"? What does that even mean? Can she give an example?

I agree President Bush didn't do enough to control spending but the single biggest program leading to the increase in spending is the prescription drug benefit. During the 2000 campaign, then candidate Bush promised to push that legislation through. I seem to recall Ms. Noonan was very much a Bush supporter back then. Didn't she know what would happen if he kept his promise?

As far as the immigration issue is concerned, Ms. Noonan's employer was on the president's side of that battle. So, if that's part of what has destroyed the GOP, maybe Ms. Noonan should start redirecting her fire. The Wall Street Journal is going to be around for a lot longer than President Bush.

Or maybe instead we need a party that's strong enough to withstand disagreement and stop looking for scapegoats. I thought we were supposed to be a "big tent". Ms. Noonan is basically doing the same thing Brooks, Limbaugh and the rest are doing. She just has a different target.