Happy Halloween, part II

As part of his look at the self-inflicted woes of the national GOP, David S. Bernstein shares his list of America's 25 scariest conservatives:

The fire-breathing reactionaries already wield extraordinary influence on the right — imagine what will happen once the relatively sane folks now running the White House and the Republican National Committee pack up and go home? Here, the Phoenix ranks the individuals who will hold the most sway over the right-wing message machine in 2009, and beyond. You’ll recognize many, and wonder why others are missing. Bill O’Reilly, for example, doesn’t make our list, because he’s now more of a follower than a leader — when’s the last time he had an original thought, scary or otherwise?