Republicans going down with the president

Digby quotes Matthew Yglesias on the very odd behavior of the current Republican party:

Much of the crisis in Washington today boils down precisely to the congressional GOP's unwillingness not so much to "do the right thing" but unwillingness to even be petty and power-hungry; their decision to see their job as backstopping the president come what may rather than to jealously horde[sic] the powers of their own offices.

Then she goes on to say:

This is why our institutions are failing. The founders never counted on politicians "doing the right thing." Profiles in courage are always in short supply and no government can depend upon good intentions. But they did assume that they would, at least, want to preserve their own careers and constitutional prerogatives. The modern Republicans are so committed to their party that they will follow their 28% president over the cliff, and that is a mindset we haven't seen since the civil war.

The big question in my mind is whether the current crop of Republican candidates are craven opportunists cynically feeding the Republican base what they want to hear, or whether they actually believe the bile they're spouting (e.g. doubling Guantanamo Bay). Let's hope we don't have the opportunity to find out.