The only way the party is going to gain is to expose the left for who they are and to educate the electorate as to what Rs stand for so they can see the difference. McClintock, Haynes, Devore, and others have written some informative articles to help educate. We need more! And we need campaigns to be informative and educational, not just soundbites and rhetoric.
But it all starts with the platform. I'll repeat from earlier in the thread:
How can grass-roots supporters go sell the party on Republicanism--take smaller government or fiscal conservatism, for example--when this party is spending more than any of their dem predecessors? IMO, it needs to start with the principles and the platform--not the "they can win" theory of candidate selection.Right now, I am hard pressed to explain to anyone why the Republican party is backing a big-spending, big-borrowing (read: taxes!), gun-grabbing, pro-GLBT, land-grabbing Governor who is forcing taxpayer/ratepayer subsidies of hydrogen highways, stemcell research, solar roofs, global warming, has appointed liberals statewide into key positions that will succeed his time in office, and made a huge number of liberal judicial appointments.
Which is why the CAGOP/New Majority GOP Big Tent RINOs are in big trouble with CA conservatives. My conservative friends in Orange County seem to be saying they are all through pulling the lever for another "least worse" RINO candidate. No more. I agree completely.