[anymouse]

Excellent analysis. Republican incumbents and candidates were too focused on finessing their message (playing safe) that they were too moderate for conservatives and too conservative for moderates.

People vote on issues that matter to them personally. You have to have a well trained, energized grass roots campaign to show the average voter that not only does the candidate want to get elected, but their friends and neighbors want the candidate to be elected.

Rove put too much faith in the vaulted "Voter Vault," which was too little utilized and too disconnected from the real "ground truth" of hands-on campaigning. Top down strategy only works if you are wise enough to trust the bottoms up troops to know what "plays in Peoria."

I don't think Rolhm Emanuel is all that smart, but he knew how to utilize the strengths of the Democrat grassroots and exploit Republican's weaknesses (as they perceive it) - our intolerance of moral ambiguity, support of fiscal responsibility and steadfast loyalty to our President and the troops.

Time to regroup and hone our conservative message and recruit quality candidates for 08. The moderates and hard conservatives will come to the Party, when the Party is relevant to them. You can't pander your way into their hearts and minds - you have to earn their respect by walking the walk.

[Miss Marple]

I agree with most of what you said. I think that "pandering" is often in the eye of the beholder. There is a fine line between pandering and tailoring your message to appeal to the most voters.