To answer the headline question: George Bush, Bob Dole, John McCain, Mitt Romney, John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell, Trent Lott, Bill Frist.
Where it went right: Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, Dick Armey, Tom Delay, Jim DeMint, men who have the stomach and the desire to actually battle the liberals.
Yep. All of those guys (Reagan especially) focused more on attacking Liberals as enemies, and Liberalism as an ideology of the enemy. That is how an ideology rises.
Thank you for the reply.