It's been evident for quite some time now that the Republican Party has completely gone over the bend. Their most popular leaders and media figures are reviled, and they've lost 3 out of the past 4 national elections.

But after President Obama was re-elected, Republicans blamed the lost "message" and that Romney was a poor candidate (and that ACORN stole the election).

Wrong, says this new CNN poll: it was the issues.

Just over half the public says that the GOP should give up more than the Democrats in any bipartisan solution to the country's problems, according to a new national survey.

And a CNN/ORC International poll also indicates that a slight majority of Americans sees the Republican party's policies and views as too extreme, a first for the GOP, and fewer than a third say they trust congressional Republicans more than President Barack Obama to deal with the major issues facing the nation.

53% to be exact. And that's not surprising at all since on just about every issue -- from taxes and gun control to global warming and gay rights -- the GOP holds fringe, unpopular views.

This is another good reason for the President to hold firm on the budget negotiations. People don't like it when you give in to extremists.