Tillis strikes me as an imperfect but acceptable candidate. The other challengers may have been better on the issues, but they both had serious baggage that would have prevented them from actually focusing on the issues during the general election.
Lee, Paul and Cruz are good examples of how Conservatives can win nomination fights in states that already lean (solidly) Conservative. Rubio had the advantage of being Hispanic in Florida working for him. We should have been smarter in DE, IN and possibly MO (Akin seemed fine until he stuck his foot in his mouth, then refused to quit the race)
The problem as I see it is that Liberals take the long view of politics and are willing to be patient as their agenda is advanced over years of not decades. They trade away 100% wins for 50% or 25% wins knowing and planning that they’ll come back for the rest later. Obamacare, for instance, wasn’t something sudden and out of the blue: it’s development stretched back to Truman and the Libs steadily pushed for it until they had the bare minimum to make it happen. Then took their shot. Same thing with gay marriage.
Conservatives strike me a lot as being ADHD in their politics. Expecting quick and immediate results and demanding hail mary passes to advance our agenda, ignoring the fact that long, boring and frustrating slogs are what really gets the work done.
This sort of mindset works to our disadvantage, and plays right into the Libs hands.
Those FReepers that keep licking that GOPe boot can't seem to keep they little opinions to themselves, they reveal their true pissant nature.
The issues we care about affect all US citizens. We might be better off articulating them across the political spectrum rather than be backstabbed by someone we supported. A lot of these conservatives who lost don't have a voting record on the issues.