Even the Republican National Committee is concerned that the base of support in those narrowly drawn congressional districts limits the party’s appeal. In their review of the 2012 election, the RNC offered an honest appraisal in which they said the GOP needs to stop “driving around in circles on an ideological cul-de-sac.” Those cul-de-sacs are Republican congressional districts.

The degree of insularity is evident in a recent New York Times blog by my former Washington Post colleague, Tom Edsall. He wrote that of the Republican majority in the House 40 percent of the 234 members “come from the 11 Confederate states, and these 97 [congressmen] are almost uniformly opposed to negotiation of any kind with Democrats.”

Last week, Pew Research reported that, nationally, a plurality of Republican voters (35 percent) believes “the party has compromised too much with Democrats.” Among Tea Party Republicans, 53 percent think their members of Congress are to open to compromise. Among all Republicans, 32 percent said the party’s strategy of obstructing President Obama and blocking budget deals and confirmation votes on cabinet appointments and judicial nominees has been “about right.” Only 27 percent of Republicans said there has been too little deal making and compromise.

Those Republican views stand in contrast to a recent Pew poll that found 52 percent of Americans think the GOP is too extreme in its politics and failure to compromise.