Doyle McManus has an op-ed in today’s Los Angeles Times which focuses on the infighting and struggles within the Republican party, something we write about frequently here at TPC.

Recently, the tea party has awakened somewhat from its coma (although they most often seem mentally comatose even when they’re conscious), and McManus sees “brewing trouble for the Republican establishment.”

After their epic fail in the 2012 elections, the GOP has been falling all over itself trying to prove to America that they’re not the nasty, bigoted, mean-spirited, War-on-Woman-y, voter suppression-y, anti-immigrant, anti-women’s rights, anti-middle class, anti-union, anti-everything Party o’ Poopyheads that they’ve shown themselves to be. Did I say “shown”? I meant “continue to show.”

Their so-called makeover (scroll) hasn’t exactly been convincing. I’m pretty sure moments like this one aren’t helping their image either: Tea Party Conference Call Features Threat To Assassinate U.S. Senator Because She Supports Immigration Reform.

Here’s the tea party take on all of this:

“It was not conservatives” who lost those Senate races, 19 of them wrote in a joint attack against [Karl] Rove’s efforts. “Not one moderate challenger won.” The solution, they argued, was to swing further right, not toward the center.

But a recent poll showed that only 22% of voters said they considered themselves tea party supporters, down from 30% three years ago.

Then clearly, they’ll be weakened in the 2014 elections, right?

The approach of congressional primary elections makes the tea party a major force… The groups have a track record of turning out in force for low-participation primaries, and adherents are an essential source for donations and volunteers in Republican campaigns.

So what’s the problem?

The problem, of course, is that this majority faction inside the party holds views often at odds not only with a majority of all voters but with the rest of the GOP.

Tea baggers are still butting heads with the GOP on immigration and the deficit (cutting it is their priority, as opposed to job creation that most Republicans support), and 76% of them want to abolish the Department of Education. Only 10% of non-tea party Republicans are with them on that.

In the House of Representatives, they’re fighting with majority leader Eric Cantor, and in the Senate, Ted Cruz called the leaders “a bunch of squishes.”

But tea party members aren’t as worried about winning elections. According to another Rapoport survey, roughly three-fourths of tea party activists say they would prefer a strongly conservative candidate who’s likely to lose over a relatively moderate candidate who’s likely to win.

So despite everything that’s working against them these days, Democrats may luck out due to Republicans eating their own.

Please proceed.