How weak are the Repubs?

A couple of examples:

• The four leading GOPher candidates for President have sided with Bush's veto of children's health care. Think about this for a moment. Such conservative stalwarts as Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) voted for the bill, and are trying to get Repubs in the House to override the veto. Do Rudy, Fred, the Mittster and McCain think that the Democrats are too dumb to say--over and over--that they opposed health care for kids? Or that the voters are too dumb to care? (The answer is that Repub primary voters will not vote against anyone for supporting the veto, but some might if a candidate opposes it. That's how disconnected the party is from the rest of the nation.)
• The administration strongly opposes the bill passed by the House that would place "contractors" (i.e., mercenaries) under US law when they treat other countries like the wild west. What was the margin in the House? 389-30. What are those nuts in the White House thinking? ARE they thinking?

Could Repubs do a better job of rendering themselves irrelevant? Hard to see how.