Read my post again. You missed my point.
Yes. Core segments of the base stayed home in those elections. It wasn't out of some complex strategy to send a message though, or to pout, or to somehow payback for having their feelings hurt.
It was because no one was articulating a strong enough message to motivate them to go to the polls. You have to stop thinking of every conservative voter as a calculating Republican activist extrapolating out the implications of their decisions. They vote (if they vote) in a more basic way on just a few key issues.
It is a subtle but important distinction that bears on the kinds of candidates we select.
You're simply telling me I'm wrong and then restating my position. Sitting on one's hands because those candidates didn't share their position is precisely what I was saying; I never claimed it was some Machiavellian "positioning" or message-sending--I simply stated that 41 and 43 both suffered the wrath of voters who didn't share their beliefs. You can't get much more basic than that.
Well said. I think you make great points. Pro-life Catholics and evangelical Christians vote when they believe the person shares their values. If not, they don't. They are not like the Democrat base, which seems motivated by rage against Republicans.