I disagree entirely. Also Scott Brown didn’t run as an Olympia Snow type of Republican. He is center right. He doesn’t support gay marriage, he does support limits on abortion, he does defend the second amendment and has an ‘A’ rating from the NRA and he ran as a fiscal conservative. As long as we allow ourselves to believe that conservatives can’t win they most certainly will not. There are some types of conservatives that can’t win in some places. Hothead conservatives won’t win in the NE or in places like Illinois but the Demographics certainly do not preclude a conservative winning on the issues. Not that the social issues have ever been the reason that conservatives lose, they lose when they don’t have an issues oriented platform that is relevant to governing. Bob McDonnell who is a strong conservative didn’t just win the easy areas in VA he won in every part of the state and in areas where Obama blew McCain away.
I was mainly talking about the folks who some Tea Party folks are pushing, strong conservatives on both the fiscal and social issues. They won't be elected in places like IL and MA, even though in both places, as in other states in the Northeast, there are folks who don't consider themselves liberals, but who seem to vote that way in national elections.
Mainly this year, I believe folks will be looking for candidates who will toe the fiscal conservative line, and the social conservatism may not be as important as it has been in the past. Certainly Independents generally feel that way. Folks want to get the economy going again, and the only way to do that is going to be by injecting some common sense into Congress in the form of newly elected members. If we can get good conservatives through the primary process, all the better!