When I view the leading members of the Republican Party today, I see people who are far more concerned with what the MSM thinks than the voters. Since the MSM is a branch of the Democrat Party, it basically comes down to these Republicans basing their decisions on what Liberals will say. What they (the Republicans) cannot seem to comprehend is no matter what stances or decisions they take, they will be viewed upon with disdain.
President Reagan was a proud Conservative who was concerned with the feelings of the electorate and not the Media. In other words, he was recognized by voters as a true (Conservative) leader, which is why he not only turned out Conservative voters, but also appealed to many Democrats.
In the last Presidential election, a “Moderate” Romney didn't turn out the base and didn't appeal to Democrats (even though he shared many Democrat beliefs). Had Republicans run an unafraid Conservative, the election wouldn't have even been close and Obama would now be planning his retirement.
President Reagan would win election today just as he did before. It's like Rush says, “Conservatism works every time it's tried”.
Here’s a thought - I just actually thought of this. When individualism was formally codified into our founding documents and system of government - most citizens of this country were likely subsistence farmers or otherwise self employed as artisans, shopkeepers etc. There were a few plantation owners, many slaves (who didn’t vote), and probably relatively few people who either didn’t own a small business or work for one.
Now, in the 21st century the exact opposite is true. Most people either work for a collective (a corporation) or are supported by one (the government).
And this is after being schooled by the government collective for something like 15 or more years.
This fact alone is bound to be transformative of the country as a whole. Do we expect people to espouse principles of self reliance, individualism, individual responsibility when for most of their lives they have been deriving physical and spiritual sustenance from one collective or another?