Is the right wing for real?

There is lots of discussion in the lefty news sites about the demise of the Republican Party, and therefore the right wing in general. I tend to dismiss such prognostications. Leftists love their pipe dreams. But I see Joe the Plumber keeps popping up. First he was challenging Obama on being taxed because sharing the wealth is communism (only to find out he and his family spent some time on welfare when he was young and he credits this with giving him a chance in life), he then gets asked to go to Israel and cover the bombing of Gaza and comes back with gems like "I don't think reporters should cover the war." Now he's being invited to a GOP congressional staffers planning meeting (The Conservative Working Group) and being advertised as an expert on the stimulus package. I'm starting to think the Republican Party might really be done.