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That thud you just heard was the Maryland Republican Party hitting dead bottom. On Monday, state party Chairman Jim Pelura resigned after three years of intra-party turmoil.

Pelura leaves behind a party that's broke, divided and powerless. Maryland is now the nation's third most Democratic state behind Massachusetts and Hawaii. Only 31 percent of Marylanders call themselves Republicans, 58 percent identify themselves as Democrats. In fact, Democratic registered voters now outnumber both Republicans and Independents combined.

There aren't enough Republicans in the state legislature to mount a filibuster and Republican elected officials are so scarce that 40 percent of the state (Montgomery, Prince George's and Baltimore city) isn't represented by a single Republican from top to bottom — from the White House to the court house.

So, instead of defeating Democrats in the last election, Maryland's Republicans defeated each other by purging moderate Congressman Wayne Gilchrest, thus surrendering the First District's safe Republican seat to a Democrat.

Next to "dysfunctional" in the dictionary there ought to be a picture of Maryland's GOP. Not only is the party a shambles, the obstacles are daunting.

With Jim Smith foregoing a challenge to Comptroller Peter Franchot, the state Democrats are unified. And, as incumbents, they control the patronage, the legislative agenda, the fundraising and the public relations spin.

And Republicans, as usual, face a hostile press corps dedicated to electing Democrats. The media's performance in Maryland's last governor's race was a disgrace, but certain to be repeated.

Media bias? Just look across the river where the Washington Post's news page has injected itself into Virginia's governor's race. The June Democratic primary was won by rural moderate Creigh Deeds when the two liberal candidates knocked each other off. But Deeds hasn't excited liberal Virginia Democratic voters, so, on its Aug. 30 front page, the Post dredged up a 20-year-old college thesis written by Bob McDonald, the Republican candidate, critical of homosexuals, abortion and working mothers.

Since then a steady drumbeat of Post "news stories" have pushed the 1989 thesis as the campaign's central issue. That's right, in the middle of the worst economic crisis in three generations the Post is focusing on one candidate's 20-year-old social views. Yes, this is the same newspaper that criticizes Republicans for playing politics with "wedge issues."

But the real media bias lies in what doesn't get reported. For instance, remember Cindy Sheehan, the anti-war mom who camped outside President Bush's home and got around-the-clock media coverage? Well, did you read about Cindy Sheehan camping outside President Obama's vacation home on Martha's Vineyard? No? Well, Sheehan spent four days in August protesting but with no media coverage. How do you explain that?

The deck is stacked against Maryland Republicans. They only have one thing going for them, one ace-in-the-hole that makes them viable — the Democrats.

If you leave Democrats in charge long enough, they will screw up every time because their ideology is fundamentally out-of-step with mainstream America.

According to the Rasmussen Poll, 52 percent of Americans identify themselves as conservatives, 31 percent as moderates and only 22 percent as liberals. Yet, liberal Democrats keep pushing goofy, unworkable ideas like racial school busing, gun control, partial birth abortion, reparations, card check, gay marriage and their newest brainstorm, government-run health care.

When an alarmed public pushes back, the liberals brand them un-American extremists, racists and homophobes. Democrats pose themselves as champions of "working families" but deep down they view middle Americans as simpletons "clinging to their guns and Bibles."

Even in blue state Maryland, the Democrats can't help from alienating the public. As soon as the Democrats regained the governorship, they prolonged bloated state spending with the largest tax increase in Maryland history. And, if re-elected, they'll do it again in 2011. Count on it.

Likewise, Maryland's one-party government has fumbled slots, made an unfair death penalty even more unfair, failed to control utility rates and reached into motorists' wallets with revenue raising speed cameras.

Meanwhile, as Marylanders battle layoffs, foreclosures, bankruptcies and higher taxes, the Democrats lame consolation is "well at least we're not California."

Thanks to the Democrats, Maryland's Republicans have a shot in next year's elections because only the Democrats could somehow make the Republicans look good.

Blair Lee is CEO of the Lee Development Group in Silver Spring and a regular commentator for WBAL radio. His column appears Fridays in The Gazette. His e-mail address is blair@leedg.com.