I don't like htis any better than any other conservative but here's what I think we have to do. Quit the infighting and support a Rudy/Romney ticket. At least Rudy has proved that he's a leader. Romeny will appeal to "moderates" of both persuasions, and would help make an eventual transition to a conservative candidate easier.
Then while we endure a RINO Rudy presidency, maybe even a Romney administration, we get together and find a strong conservative candidate to run in the next available cycle.
Of course this all assumes things remain pretty much status quo globally and economically in the US.
FWIW In typing this I just noticed a Rudy/Romney ticket is RR, not that they come close to The Man. I've been watching RR clips on YouTube overnight, especially the tributes and the ones with his "Tear down this wall" speech.
Good Lord I miss The Gipper...
prisoner6
Perhaps those the Republicans have tried to groom have been seen as targets of the leftist media and dogs have been set on their heels as they climb the ladder for the purpose of marginalization.
Let me me think...Nixon, Kemp, Newt, and perhaps others seem to fit the historical bill as targets.
I'm afraid this is where a common belief in politics, with respect to the GOP, never comes to fruition. You can witness it on a lesser scale with Governorships, but almost every single time, no Conservative Republican ever follows a liberal/RINO in office. When the liberal/RINO pursues those policies we associate with the Democrats, and they almost always tend to prove a fiasco or unpopular, they get the entire GOP associated with those said failed policies... and what you get in the end is not only a debased party, but a Democrat successor. A President Giuliani and/or a President Romney would not only assure the likelihood of a Democrat successor, it would also likely assure continuing (and growing) 'Rat Congressional, Gubernatorial, and Legislative majorities.