Newsweek’s Howard Fineman wonders: “I’m wondering if we haven’t just witnessed a turning point in politics. Years from now, when we look back on the ‘Gang of 14′ deal, will we see it as the moment when the tide of conservative Republicanism crested?” Keep hope alive, Newsweek.

Fineman suggests Biblical excess as the problem: “A generation ago, voters turned against the Democrats for the excesses of their welfare-state, big-government thinking. Washington WASN’T the answer to everything. But, voters may conclude, the Bible isn’t either. They could turn against the GOP if they think the party is sacrificing the American tradition of pragmatism and respect for scientific progress – on, say, stem-cell research – in favor of religious fundamentalism, however sincere.” He weirdly argues: “Two religions are in collision, one of them secular and scientific, the other Biblical.”