EXACTLY!
I love Rush Limbaugh.
But the one thing he says with which I strongly disagree is that "conservatism works every time its tried."
Now, I know what he means (most moderates are wimp ass dorks and lousy candidates) but there are MANY examples where conservatives have lost.
The biggest recent example is US Sen. Rick Santorum's loss to liberal empty suit Bobbie Casey Jr. (D) here in Pennsylvania.
And just look at the other conservative Republicans who lost in 2006 and 2008.
If "conservatism" was the only criteria to winning, then Duncan Hunter would have won the 2008 GOP primary, and the general election by a landslide because Hunter was by far the most conservate, followed by Fred Thompson, who also could not get support.
The the simple truth is that personality, charisma, politics, AND the ability to promote CONSERVATIVE VALUES are essential to having a winning candidate.
Simply being a conservative is far from enough.
Again, McCain was such an awful candidate because he was a boring, Washington insider who not only is a Democrat-loving liberal... but he PHYSICALLY turns people off due to his age, his frumpy looks, his 'out of touch' personna, and a dozen other reasons.
Romney supporters like myself were not so much ga-ga over Romney, but the truth is that HE was the only candidate with personality and style that could articulate the conservative message.
Republicans seem to forget that personality and style (think Reagan) plays a HUGE difference in getting the support of enough mainstream voters necessary to win.
Dole and McCain might have been great war hero's, but they were downright AWFUL candidates -- and thus got demolished.
The Freepers who incessantly bash Romney offer no alternative viable candidates. They simply live to bash.
And like you said, THAT simply divides the Republican Party.
When we point out that Romney has demonstrated already that he lacks those qualities, you write it off as "bashing" and attribute it to hatred, rather than taking a long hard serious look at your flawed candidate Romney. It is very shallow on your part, whereas Romney's record as a big government moderate is deep and wide -- including his own words in the article that started this discussion. And you further insult your fellow FReepers by saying those who object STRONGLY to Romney with good cause "simply live to bash." You reveal a lot about Romney himself -- the gaul, ugliness, and arrogance of Romnney supporters alone raises enough red flags to soundly reject Romney.
Where is it written than in order to reject Romney NOW, I must already have made a firm commitment to an alternative candidate? Again, YOU seem to think that's the case, even though it's years to 2012. I may not know yet who's RIGHT for the ticket, but I certainly know who is wrong for it, and that's Romney. Romney would be the kiss of death for conservatism, and you need to either wake up to it or go join another party.
You seek to finish off the Republican party by pushing on the GOP a moderate, big government proven loser. You reject the concept of limited government -- you need to rethink your political party affiliation.