Andrew Romano in Newsweek: "In the year and a half since Barack Obama was elected president, Republicans nationwide seem to have given up on the whole governing thing and chosen instead to play a long, rancorous game of 'I'm More Conservative Than You Are.' ... The RNC [even] toyed with the idea of imposing a purity test on potential GOP candidates. ...

"Conservatives would claim that the Republican Party can only regain power by 'returning to its roots' and banishing heretics. But a funny thing happened on the way to winning national elections again: The GOP has drifted so far right that it's retroactively disqualified the only Republicans since 1960 who've actually managed to, you know, win national elections.

"Based on their public statements, policy proposals and accomplishments while in office, none of the modern Republican presidents -- not Richard Nixon, not Gerald Ford, not George H.W. Bush, not even Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush -- would come close to satisfying the Republican base if they were seeking election today."

Eva Rodriguez at a Washington Post blog recalls that Miguel Estrada's judicial nomination by George W. Bush was blocked by Democrats and left-wing groups "to keep the young, brilliant conservative lawyer off the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit -- and out of contention for an eventual spot on the Supreme Court. But now, rather than join those blindly lambasting Elena Kagan, Estrada has offered an elegant and earnest testimonial advocating confirmation of President Obama's Supreme Court nominee."

He wrote: "Elena possesses a formidable intellect, an exemplary temperament and a rare ability to disagree with others without being disagreeable. She is calm under fire and mature and deliberate in her judgments. ... If such a person, who has demonstrated great intellect, high accomplishments and an upright life, is not easily confirmable, I fear we will have reached a point where no capable person will readily accept a nomination for judicial service."

According to Ms. Rodriguez, "This will not sit well with some Republican senators -- and may have the bizarre result of fueling suspicion from some on the left who worry that Kagan is a right-winger in Democratic clothing. ... Whatever the political impact, the endorsement is evidence of Estrada's high-mindedness. Let's hope that lawmakers can follow his example -- even if they reach a different conclusion."

The PGH IS A CITY blog writes about the recommendation of a grand jury to do away with redundant state jobs:

"Until yesterday, the sole job of 35 salaried PennDOT employees was to handle legislative requests -- to the tune of 246,000 requests per year. On the Democratic side of the state House, there are at least 10 'PennDOT specialists' who submit those requests."

PGH notes that House Republican spokesman Steve Miskin was livid: "You're saying the legislator, the vocal representative for that community, can't help their constituents out? That is their job. That is what they're supposed to do."

PGH's take: "Steve, your job is to enable constituents to get what they need. It's not to bloat our government beyond repair. What's next? Does the state Legislature have special Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board specialists who will place special orders for you when you can't figure out how to do it yourself? Honestly, if you can't figure out how to register your car or get a driver's license, you probably shouldn't be driving."

Chris Briem at his local Null Space blog writes about BP "making Marcellus-related investments, so the British are coming ... but so are the Asian sovereign wealth funds ... So the Spanish own Kennywood, the French own the cabs and now the Chinese are going to own our natural gas (well ... not yet, maybe someday). What's next? The Japanese are going to buy Westinghouse or something like that. What then?

"I still think that the most efficient economic development strategy for the region would be to fund the hiring of a Mandarin teacher for every school. Would be a lot cheaper than a lot of other things we try. Think of all the earned media we would get."

A hand-scrawled message from a little girl named Jane that's flying around the Internet:

"Dear God: Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don't you just keep the ones you got now?"

Cartoonist Rob Rogers does "Rob's Rough," an early look at his work and his creative process, exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.