[Mr. Silverback]

BTW, I should have said theoretically true. It's theoretically true that we can lose the middle by including strong social conservatives, and it's theroetically true the media could successfully paint us as nuts, but in the real world we (a) haven't lost them (1980 and 1984) and (b) the media has been trying to paint the Tea Party as racist whack job central since April of 2009 and have gotten nowhere, so changing gears to anti-choice whack job central isn't going to work.

[Servant of the Cross]

Another BTW, to add to your good point, since the media will try to paint all of us Tea Party conservatives (socon, defcon, fiscalcon) and libertarians, as 'whackos' no matter what, who do you think they will be MORE successful in painting as a whacko?