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if we don't make a change we become a minority.

You need to learn some history. The GOP was the minority party until Reagan "broadened the tent" by adding the (formerly Democratic) evangelicals. He did so by adopting pro-life and pro-family-values planks to the GOP platform. Now you want to undo what Reagan did. If you and the Weekly Standard are successful, the "values" voters will leave the GOP and the GOP will return to minority status.

" He did so by adopting pro-life and pro-family-values planks to the GOP platform. Now you want to undo what Reagan did."

Most people haven't a clue where the Reagan Dem's came from or why. Now we have the guns and gay issue that brings more to republicans.

The social issues and guns are what the independent voters swing on. Remove those and they go back to the RATS.

the "values" voters will leave the GOP and the GOP will return to minority status.
True, but my rather pessimistic view point is just how many values voters are there anymore? Sure the south is there but the evangelicals are now the "new" evangelicals. They are not the solid conservatives of the Reagan years. I hope I am wrong about their social conservatism having gone the way of being much more open minded and accepting/tolerant or another way of putting it is"anything goes". I am talking about the 25 to 40 age range. Younger families going to the user-friendly, purpose driven, and emergent churches looking for a more do good social club than a repent of your sins and live right with God and man. I think most people are pretty unaware of this side to the church/evangelical movement out there right now. I work in an industry that has experienced first hand this change.

In the south, I think this is true.

However, elsewhere the "Reagan Democrat" is something of a myth.

Take a look at Pennsylvania. In 1980, Reagan actually lost Allegheny and Beaver Counties (blue collar Democrat Pittsburgh area) by slightly larger margins than Ford did in 1976.

In other metro Pittsburgh counties, he did somewhat better than Ford, but not much.

On a percentage basis, Reagan's best turnaround compared to Ford were Fulton (South Central) and Pike (northeast), but Ford won those as well -- Reagan just carried them by larger margins. In raw numbers though the collar counties of Philly were much of the turnaround.

Bucks Reagan carried by 41K, Ford by just 6K
Montgomery Reagan carried by 72K, Ford by 42K
Delaware Reagan carried by 55K, Ford by 31K.

In those days though the Philly collar was Republican. Today that is no longer true...Kerry won those counties, although Bush carried much of the metro Pittsburgh area.

I am not necessarily advocating dumping the social conservative message -- indeed, Reagan could appeal to social conservatives and social libertarians.

That is right Reagan built a coalition. right now Small town-Southern "social Conservatives" are not a majority probably because they are not a coalition.That coalition is disapearing. part of the reason is success. we have defeated the Communist threat. Taxes are lower, as is crime and welfare has been reformed. our fiscal Conservatives have given up the fight (wrongly) for limiting government because they think that cutting taxes will raise more revenue with out limit(they never heard of the law of diminishing returns). Although the Dem's can't seem to get rid of Al Sharpton they have gotten the message that the Dem's as a black party is a loser and black issues have almost disappeared from sight. So many of the issues that Reagan won on have diminished. To look back at that success and say we need to repeat is is like the Dem's in 1968 thinking that all they need to do is maintain the corporate liberal message that won them control over the previous 30 years. You have to look at yourself and reconsider things. that is just the way it is.