The Libs have their "wets" and "drys", but they're not as destructive as the Labor factions in full flight. (And Howard got rid of most of the moderates in the party, and they haven't yet come back. The Abbott leadership may prove to be a catalyst in this respect.)
While there's no doubt that Rudd was poor at carrying out policy and tended to blame everybody but himself for his failures, I believe the major reason behind his removal was the desire of the Right to reassert its authority over the party. No matter how disastrous its policies, no matter how crooked many of its proponents are (look at NSW), they still believe they have a right to rule. They couldn't abide Rudd snubbing them, and Gillard, sadly for her and the party, was willing to chuck her supposed Left sympathies to throw her lot in with the Right for power.
The pity is that together they could have been a great team, with Rudd as the populist leader and the initiator of good policies, and Gillard as the person with the administrative skills to carry out those policies. It's a shame that the egos of both wouldn't allow them to make a realistic assessment of the situation.
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