This is certainly a possible explanation and probably has merit as it applies to Newt. But this explanation does not hold water when it is applied to the Republicans. Republicans ran away from the Contract before Newt had any problems. In fact, Republicans ran away from the Contract before they finished voting on all ten parts of the contract. Newt was at the peak of his glory days. Understanding why Republicans have run away from the Contract is key to understanding why Republicans have now become part of the problem and seem to be listening to folks like r9eth:
"The problem is simply that conservatives are ignorant of the real game being played, and too impatient to learn it."
On the contrary, Republican politicians are now playing the same game as the Democrats. That's the rub. Passing Campaign Finance Reform and Medicare Prescription Drugs is precisely playing the "professional" politicians' game. On the other hand, if you meant that "conservative" voters are not aware that Congressional Republicans are now playing the same game that the Democrats have always played, then you have correctly identified the problem. That raises the question about timing:
"Further, conservatives are impatient: they look for The Big Fix, and they refuse to accept incremental gains."
The Federal Reserve Act, the XVIth and XVIIth Amendments were passed in 1913. It took roughly ninety years to push the country to the brink of insolvency. Every democracy in history has eventually ended in bankruptcy or hyperinflation after the public learns to vote itself benefits from the treasury. If you do the math, our country will cross the threshhold of insolvency somewhere in the vicinty of 2015-2020 unless major corrections are made to existing laws.
Major changes in the law will be most easily accomplished by making major changes in the lawmakers who actually make the law. That's what this series is about. We believe we know how to recruit and elect lawmakers made from the same mold as Ronald Reagan and cut from the same cloth as the Founders. Use your ping lists to recruit people to these threads. The Constitution can be restored in the less than a decade, but we are going to need your help. We don't have another ninety years to make a difference. We are asking you to invite your friends and fellow Freepers: Will they and you take The Pledge?
LOL! You're pounding on the Big Fix again. Problem is, politics doesn't work that way. The left operates by patience: winning incrementally, and losing incrementally only to try again another day. They're very, very good at this, and it's the best possible strategy to defeat the Big Fix.
You have nailed it!
Not true.