First, I think the White House and Congress had a slim window to prove that conservatism works. They failed miserably in my estimation. You and I know Bush isn't a conservative, but the average voter believes Bush is a conservate, he's failed, therefore conservatism has failed. That makes it much more difficult to run as a conservative. Had the GOP enacted conservative legislation with positive results, the climate would be much more favorable.
Second, most in the GOP intuitively know that this party is in deep trouble this year. Much of that trouble is directly attributable to the GOP itself. Many think the only way to avoid that is to run left; consequently many conservatives have betrayed their principles because they think it will prevent a Hillary Presidency.
Finally, conservatives of all types (fiscal, national security, social) have been repeatedly kicked in the teeth over the last eight years. History has demonstrated that "going along to get along" nets them nothing. Understandably, their mentality has changed to "all or nothing" and the chances of a coalition conservative candidate (i.e. Fred Thompson) has been reduced.
You wrote:
First, I think the White House and Congress had a slim window to prove that conservatism works. They failed miserably in my estimation. You and I know Bush isn't a conservative, but the average voter believes Bush is a conservate, he's failed, therefore conservatism has failed. That makes it much more difficult to run as a conservative. Had the GOP enacted conservative legislation with positive results, the climate would be much more favorable.
You may be right as to the "average voter." But I am talking about the conservative voter. To me, this still doesn't speak to explaining why conservative voters didn't rally to the more conservative candidates, leading in fact to those candidates having to drop out altogether.
Did what the GOP did legislatively figure at all into who you supported among the field that was presented? No. And I bet it didn't effect other conservative voters either.
Second, most in the GOP intuitively know that this party is in deep trouble this year. Much of that trouble is directly attributable to the GOP itself. Many think the only way to avoid that is to run left; consequently many conservatives have betrayed their principles because they think it will prevent a Hillary Presidency.
I think your observations are accurate, but I still don't think they apply to conservative voters. I don't think that conservative voters ever decide to "run left," or to "betray their principles."
So either there are a whole bunch of people who call themselves conservative, but who aren't. Or there aren't nearly as many conservatives out there as one might believe. I don't know which it is.
But I do know that conservatives had every opportunity to at least support more conservative candidates than the front-runners now, but they didn't.
Finally, conservatives of all types (fiscal, national security, social) have been repeatedly kicked in the teeth over the last eight years. History has demonstrated that "going along to get along" nets them nothing. Understandably, their mentality has changed to "all or nothing" and the chances of a coalition conservative candidate (i.e. Fred Thompson) has been reduced.
I can't agree that conservatives have "netted nothing" over the last eight years. For one thing, the Supreme Court has been changed for the foreseeable future to one much more balanced.
But, regardless of the merits of the conclusions you observe, I think your last point is the most telling. The increase in the "my way or the highway," or one of the many other ways it can be characterized, thinking is, IMHO, exactly what is preventing the emergence of a candidate who is at least more conservative than the current front-runners.
It's not the GOP, Bush, the MSM or anyone or anything else that caused conservatives to fail to get a more conservative candidate out of the bottom tier.
It was solely the ever-increasing pervasiveness of the idea that accepting anything less than 100% constitutes "going along to get along" and that is to be avoided.