According to the New York Times, what I call the GOP’s reflective right — thoughtful conservatives who don’t think discussion is talking in talk show sound bites or kowtowing to the Tea Party — is forming a group to bolster conservatives against challenges from Tea Party and talk show types:

"The biggest donors in the Republican Party are financing a new group [backed by Karl Rove] to recruit seasoned candidates and protect Senate incumbents from challenges by far-right conservatives and Tea Party enthusiasts who Republican leaders worry could complicate the party’s efforts to win control of the Senate."

"The group, the Conservative Victory Project, is intended to counter other organizations that have helped defeat establishment Republican candidates over the last two election cycles. It is the most robust attempt yet by Republicans to impose a new sense of discipline on the party, particularly in primary races."

You might say it’s the anti-Sarah Palin. Even though Fox News Roger Ailes made her an offer he knew she could and would refuse (and did) Palin has some big bucks saved in her PAC and has made it clear she intends to use it to fight “the establishment” — i.e. Republicans who might believe that Republican and conservative goals can be partially met by considering compromise and consensus building as virtues, not wimpishness.

" 'There is a broad concern about having blown a significant number of races because the wrong candidates were selected,' said Steven J. Law, the president of American Crossroads, the super PAC creating the new project. 'We don’t view ourselves as being in the incumbent protection business, but we want to pick the most conservative candidate who can win.'

"The effort would put a new twist on the Republican-vs.-Republican warfare that has consumed the party’s primary races in recent years. In effect, the establishment is taking steps to fight back against Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations that have wielded significant influence in backing candidates who ultimately lost seats to Democrats in the general election."

It is literally a battle for the soul of the Republican Party.