The Republican party used to not suck, at least not anywhere near this bad. As liberal as I am, the conservatives (of olde) provided counter-arguments that were useful. For example, as a liberal, I want government to provide universal and complete healthcare, good education for everyone, and a robust safety net for when we get laid off. There's probably a limit to how far that should all extend though, and having conservatives argue against the liberals helps balance what we get to the middle of the range of possibilities.
However, this all assumes that both sides are actually trying to achieve the same thing: a functional country that is trying to achieve the optimal operating point. That is no longer true of the Republican party, unfortunately. They know that austerity won't help the country. They know that cutting all the social programs won't help the country or, in the long run, businesses. They have one goal: to get reelected. Getting the business vote (which is now working on short term gains - see housing bubble) and financial support in by far job #1 for them. Getting money to the rich, which partially comes back as campaign contributions, in far more important that doing anything to help the economy. Hell, not giving Obama a win is far more important than helping the nation at all.
So when a lifelong Republican comes to the point where they realize their party is fucked, welcome to the our side! We're actually pretty middle-of-the-road as it is, maybe too far right, at least for my ideals. And if that can help the Republican party unfuck itself eventually and become a good opposition to the Democratic party (and the Dems move back left), we'll all be better off for it.
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