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I'll go back to what I posted during the primaries.

We, as conservatives, allow ourselves to be fragmented by having a variety of definitions of what a "true conservative" is, and looking to fill our candidate spots with whomever checks off the right boxes on a list of policy positions, regardless of what kind of candidate they would make.

To extend on Bill Buckley's famous "vote for the most conservative candidate who can win", my revision reads "vote for the candidate most able to put a conservative agenda into effect". This encompasses a wider look that the Buckley rule, in that we are not just looking at "electability" (though that is a factor) but also at expected effectiveness once in office.

Effectiveness involves getting a conservative agenda enacted, which means getting Congress to go along with it (typically by convincing the public, and have Congress follow in order to keep their seats). To this end, you don't need a "true conservative" who either can't get elected or can't get anything accomplished once in office, but an "80% conservative" who can win and who can lead will move the general direction of the country the right way.

But that may mean having to compromise on a core issue or two in order to get the rest of the package. The whole "I'm taking my ball and going home" attitude of the "pure conservative" crowd is not helpful.

Now, what I mean by someone who can effect a conservative agenda is someone who fits -- as closely as reasonably possible -- the following criteria:

Has, at a fundamental level, conservative instincts even if there is some deviation from a pure "movement conservative" philosophy
Has shown that they can win an election at the state level
Has executive experience, preferably in government or military
Has private sector experience, preferably as a business owner
Has demonstrated the ability, as an executive, of implementing an agenda, all the more so if the agenda would normally be resisted by the organization
Has the appropriate charisma and "media skills" to articulate a message and overcome or bypass media filters

Now, it's highly unlikely to find someone who fits every single one of those bullet points to a "T", but that's the grading card I use, and suggest others use as well.

Using the recent primaries as an example, Romney certainly doesn't fit the bill well -- his conservative instincts are questionable at best, and while he has government and business executive experience, his agenda while in office was shaped by the legislature, not enacted in spite of it. There's also a lot of doubt that he was able to be convincing enough to sell his message to the public (admittedly, after the first debate, it looked a lot better, but then he drifted back toward milquetoast at the end).

On the flip side, Newt Gringich was likely the best fit overall, even if he wouldn't be the fist choice on most of the individual bullets. His biggest drawbacks on that card are his lack of elected executive experience (though admittedly, Speaker of the House is pretty good for a non-executive) and the lack of winning a statewide election. His conservative credentials weren't perfect (though far better than Romney's), but he also had a strong track record of shaking things up and getting things done.

PIPE DREAMS...it is over...Obama will appoint at least two Supreme Court Justices (Valerie Jarret the commie said so and she is right)...he will assure that NO STATE requires voter ID...he will grant total amnesty to illegals..

There is NO WAY any Republican or conservative will EVER be president again.....it is over.

Obama and his blind Marxist are about to sink our, and the world, economies....we can now see the CLIFF...it is in view.

Correction to self... I wrote my original statements during the primaries but waited until they were (effectively) over to publish it, to avoid it being dismissed as electioneering for a specific candidate rather than general food for thought.

“On the flip side, Newt Gringich was likely the best fit overall, even if he wouldn’t be the fist choice on most of the individual bullets.”

I was a Newt supporter and thought he should have been the ball carryer. Romney and the GOPe held all the money....so we got Myth.