The Times reports on a new fight on the right: the question of whether American conservatism suffers from “epistemic closure,” which is to say a structural closed-mindedness and intolerance in the movement (such as it is).

On issues such as health care and global warming, some conservatives warn, the right has become disconnected from reality.

Conservative media, Mr. Sanchez wrote atjuliansanchez.com — referring to outlets like Fox News and National Review and to talk-show stars like Rush Limbaugh, Mark R. Levin and Glenn Beck — have “become worryingly untethered from reality as the impetus to satisfy the demand for red meat overtakes any motivation to report accurately.”

Well…for most of us, no big news here. As blog readers will know, I’ve been arguing that the conservative movement has been marked by a lack of intellectual seriousness, purpose, even credibility, for years now. This is, simply put, a party without ideas. It’s much politics about nothing, and it has had no interest in policymaking or problem-solving at least since the 2008 election and likely well before. (Karl Rove’s—and therefore the Bush administration’s—lack of interest in domestic policy has been well documented.)

Which is one of the reasons the Republican Party has helped fuel the rise of the brain-dead Tea Party People.

This current fight is, I think, a hopeful event for American conservatives, and perhaps good for the country; one would much prefer a healthy intellectual debate over the country’s future than the current ranting and raving of do-nothing, hate-everything conservatives.

Now we just have to watch out for the Timothy McVeighs that are gathering on the Mall and strapping on their guns for a visit to Starbucks….