WHICH REPUBLICAN PARTY WILL THE BELTWAY BE WIRED FOR?

John McCain has criticized Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and other new-style Republicans, referring to them as "wacko birds." And now Newt Gingrich has chastised McCain for attacking these "mavericks."

Newt Gingrich attacking John McCain?

I guess now there'll finally be some diversity of opinion on Sunday morning talk shows.

But seriously: If there's a genuine GOP split coming on issues like the government's use of force, which Republican Party will the Beltway be wired for? We know that Beltway journalists believe Republican thinking defines the center, while Democratic thinking is dangerously to the left of the American consensus. But if Rand Paul is talking about restraints on government power, with the GOP base's enthusiastic support, while media darlings John McCain and Lindsey Graham are still talking about carrying a big stick, who's going to be embraced by This Week and Meet the Press and Face the Nation?

Or will they just be asked to tag-team the president and Democrats for the foreseeable future, as a sort of bad cop/different kind of bad cop team? Will they peacefully coexist, as long as they unite on the goal of marginalizing Democratic ideas?