[publius1]

Actually, I disagree. The Republicans had a story to tell, and never told it. They could have had momentum on national secuirity issues, but that got frustrated by McCain on the torture bill. Literally, in my estimation, they shot themselves--they lacked confidence in themselves and in their message. It's nuts to say, though, that they were defeated because of corruption or something else, when they put forth nothing to run on, and everyone knows that the Dem's are worse.

[expatpat]

appeal to the center...., as Reagan did, by making the effort not to change our beliefs but to better explain our beliefs

This is the most important message in this article, IMO.

[BluH2o]

The Republicans had a story to tell, and never told it.

It would help if they could get the word out ... unfortunately the neo-liberals that make up the ranks of MSM in this country squelch it by their constant drumbeat of negativism.

[wgflyer]

I like the way you put it, but let me just adjust it a bit, if I may...conservatives had a story to tell but were afraid to tell it because they lost trust in and contact with their constituents and began to believe the belt line gossip and the MSM. The RINOs never had a story to tell other than "I want a cushy job in D.C.", and that meant (they thought) moving left.

Lacking confidence is a telling thing. To me, when a conservative lacks confidence he lacks the belief in his own principles and, somewhat insultingly, he loses faith in those who put him in power because of those very principles. And that such a person wishes to be reelected is an insult.

Libs have no principles. It's natural for them to tell the electorate anything they think might "resonate". Conservatives just can't pull this off. Lying isn't their bag. That so many Republicans have taken to it shows the extent that they've lost their conservatism.

I don't mean to say Republicans lost because of corruption, though that certainly factored in. Corruption is an inevitable symptom of straying from conservative principles of behavior.

We need candidates and elected officials who are pro actively conservative, but not stupidly conservative, and who don't even listen to the MSM but rather make them scream bloody murder. It would give me no end of glee to see MSM complaining that a conservative government had neutered the legal community, reformed our tax system, sealed our borders, ad infinitum, rather than hear conservatives whine that the libs had just made homosexual marriage legal and put a cross in urine.

Man, I'm long-winded here. Sorry.

[gdc314]

They could have had momentum on national secuirity issues, but that got frustrated by McCain on the torture bill. Literally, in my estimation, they shot themselves

Yep, I remember clearly how President Bush set the stage for the GOP to really clobber the Dems on national security...only to have McCain et al proptly shut it all down and give the Dems cover.