Replies

Question.

Did you ever hear of a man called Ronald Reagan?

He was a governor of a state that is widely known for its liberalism and he was a conservative. He then ran as president as a conservative, governed as a conservative (despite a mostly democrat congress) and then won a second election in a landslide with 49 states (out of 50, in case you needed some perspective).

Rick Santorum won as a conservative. He's behind now that he is not. BTW, his faux conservatism became apparent when he help to defeat a real conservative by helping one of the most liberal Republicans.

Ron Paul, a libertarian Republican wins in a mostly democrat district by standing solidly on the Constitution. Tom Coburn is a solid conservative and won in a majority Democrat district. He term limited himself in the House and then ran for the Senate and he was elected as a conservative.

The problem isn't that America doesn't lean conservative, but that the GOP crushes conservative candidates in the primary.

He then ran as president as a conservative, governed as a conservative (despite a mostly democrat congress) and then won a second election in a landslide with 49 states (out of 50, in case you needed some perspective).

I'm not sure people can really say that Reagan governed as a "true" Conservative when President. From a fiscal Conservative standpoint, (social spending, running up the deficit, some of his tax policies, etc) he probably wasn't.

The thing is, since everyone KNEW that Reagan was a true Conservative, they saw his more centrist (if not Liberal) policies as tactical moves to support an overall strategic advancement of Conservatism ...

Yes, there are some conservatives who can win in some districts. I believe I said that in the original post.

Reagan also granted illegals amnesty and said repeatedly that no one was going to get all they wanted and it was better to get some of your agenda than none.

I totally agree that the GOP marginalizes conservative candidates in districts where the polling shows that they might not win. Ron Paul and Dr Coburn are exceptions, IMO.