In a democracy, governance is based on compromise. Since the political class represents an agglomeration of interests, all of which have equal claims to legitimacy, outcomes reflect bargains struck by lawfully elected representatives of those interests. Each party gives something to get something. Failure to accept that basic premise is an invitation for paralysis, gridlock or worse.

That is exactly what is unfolding in Washington as the Republican Party struggles to select a successor to John Boehner, speaker of the House of Representatives, the third person in line to replace the president of the United States if he is incapacitated and traditionally one of the most powerful individuals in the U.S. Boehner stunned his colleagues last month by announcing his intention to resign his post and the party has been unable to find a successor. While some partisans are pleased to see the GOP in disarray, the situation has profound consequences for U.S. politics and by extension the ability of the U.S. to act in the world.

The Republican Party has been energized and antagonized ever since Barack Obama became president in 2008. Committed to challenging Obama on every front, the GOP has increasingly become a rejectionist party, refusing to recognize that its power is limited with a Democrat in the White House and the absence of a supermajority in both Houses of Congress that would let it override a presidential veto. GOP tidal waves in midterm elections compounded anger among the Republican base and the defeat of candidate Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election confirmed the belief among many party stalwarts that moderation was no virtue. Indeed, among many of the faithful, the lesson learned was that the GOP has suffered for a readiness to compromise and only a principled refusal to bend would bring about the realization of Republican goals.