In an excellent, but underrated diary End Game: The Elephant Gambit Denied, which I highly recommend, GreyHawk likened current political events (and in particular, republican losses) to a high stakes game of political chess. This is my extended and corrected response (with thanks to UniC for suggesting it).
GreyHawk hit it right on the head and we need to pay attention. This is a long-term game, not just through '06 or '08. The Rethugs usurped the amount of power they have by playing a long-term game. They developed their echo chamber, intimidated the so-called liberal media into submission, funded and developed their think tanks, completely took over K Street, realigned the congress and have begun to dominate the judiciary. More below the fold.