[BroJoeK]

jjotto: "Let’s look at losing Republican presidential candidates: Romney, McCain, Dole, GHW Bush, Ford.
Did they claim to be full-throated conservatives?
Or were they actually moderates uncomfortable with conservatives?"

Sure, and let's look at all the recent Republican winners:

1. 1952 Eisenhower
2. 1956 Eisenhower
3. 1968 Nixon
4. 1972 Nixon
5. 1980 Reagan
6. 1984 Reagan
7. 1988 Bush senior
8. 2000 Bush junior
9. 2004 Bush junior

So, of those nine Republican victories over 60 years, how many were true conservatives?

Sure, we can count Reagan, but many would argue he talked a better conservative fight than he actually delivered.
Indeed, his single greatest accomplishment -- defeating the Soviet Union -- resulted in part by greatly increasing Federal spending on defense.

Of course, I'm not saying that's bad, just that you expect conservatives to reduce the government, and I don't see where even Reagan, great as he was, accomplished that mission.

[jjotto]

You might be right. Conservatives in America may be as irrelevant as conservatives in Europe. We’re all socialists now.

Just don’t expect conservatives to support the socialist lite Republicans. Romney 2012 may be the high point fro Republicans!