[Twinkie]

Corker, the Republican candidate for Senate in Tennessee, ran a tasteful (at least as tasteful as Ford) but smash-mouth, in your face campaign. He was a gentleman, but didn't try to play the usual Republican old boys' club wink and nod, above all that sort of hardball fighting sort of thing. Corker fought back and used every credible weakness of Ford, and the corrupt Ford Tennessee dynasty, and won. His campaign was exceptionally good.

[Bittersweetmd]

ping

[tkathy]

Millions and millions of immigrants, both latino and muslim voted.

[TeddyCon]

IMO, Tom Delay has it right.

Our side didn't play to win the election, they played to not lose it.

And that "strategy" just about guarantees you a loss every time out.

[dmw]

Jackie Mason was on Neil Cauvto yesterday and I think he got it right when he said, "The media won this election for the democrats". He's right!

[longtermmemmory]

how did they run as conservtives?

The democrats triangulated the republicans. The author has it 100% wrong.

The lesson is that a DINO trumps a RINO.

[Tallguy]

This "take my ball and go home" strategy seemed to prefer Tuesday’s election disaster to a more measured approach: maintaining control, applying pressure conventionally on elected representatives, seizing upon primaries as a means to nominate more conservative candidates, and, most importantly of all, always opposing liberals. On Election Day, Betrayed Conservatives for the most part ended up pulling the lever for Republicans, but the damage was done. The moderate in the next booth had already heard the noise, listed to the media analysis of a party in ruins, and decided it was "time for a change."

Ummmm. We tried to run a conservative, Pat Toomey, in PA against liberal Republican, Arlen Specter. President Bush pressured Rick Santorum to support Specter. So this argument against "conservative revolt" falls flat -- at least in Pennsylvania.

[Crawdad]

Politics has become a cult of personality. See the governor of California.

[carmody]

Santorums opponent is just as socially conservative as Santorum.

[H.Akston]

Nowhere in this thread does the name "Hastert" appear. His biggest flourish in the media this season came was when the DOJ raided William Jefferson Democrat Louisiana's office, and he was all pisced. Taking the side of a corrupt Democrat, was the message that sent to many. That kind of speakership doesn't serve Newt's legacy well.

R's haven't at least appeared to hold W accountable enough, (Sen Warner tried but too little too late) and all the good apples allowed themselves to be tainted by the 2 bad ones, and didn't effectively counter the MSM anti-war propaganda blitz.

[TAdams8591]

"It is true that Republicanism lost on Tuesday, but it lost in all its forms – and that included the exact form of strong, clear conservatism that the movement desperately needs."

Exactly, Republicans were thrown out indiscriminately. Precisely the reason it was the Party and it's leadership who were repudiated, not conservatism. Rush is right.

Reagan used the term conservative all the time, in most every speech and several times throughout the speech. How often do you hear President Bush, or anyone in his administration, use the term conservative?

[hosepipe]

[ If the electorate was demanding conservatism, then why did strong, principled conservatives lose? ]

America is becomeing more socialist not LESS.. Conservatism is becoming a socialist enterprise.. Conservatives are very confused.. Social Security(SSA) is is exactly pure socialism.. not like socialism; but exactly express socialism..

[subterfuge]

The fact is, the majority of the American public are ignorant headline readers and all they know is Republicans:

-Are against the right to "choose."
-Hate minorities, especially blacks.
-Are hopelessly homophobic.
-Kill baby seals, every fish in the see and Caribou.
-Worship the rich and hate the poor.
-All belong to exclusive country clubs.
-Believe woman should not be allowed to work.
-Are stupid because they don't get their news from Letterman and John Stewart.

Etc.

[Fraulein]

"[c]onservatism did not lose, Republicanism lost last night. Republicanism, being a political party first, rather than an ideological movement, is what lost last night"

Translation: We need to somehow win back our base

[rintense]

Rush echoed today what Charles Krathmauer already said, the country isn't becoming more liberal, its becoming more conservative. Let the record show that Charles had it right, first.

[TigersEye]

Rush is right. The party has no leader and it didn't run on conservatism.

[pctech]

There were many reasons why the GOP lost on Tuesday, but the main reasons are 1). The MSM acted in orchestration with the liberal left to sling so much mud that they have the entire nation thinking conservatives are evil and wrong, and 2). Organizations like Moveon.org targeted congressman and senator for character assassination and got them defeated.

I guarantee this will continue in every election from here on out. Senator McCain did his best to sabotage election reform in favor of liberalism and we have felt the effects.

[Zack Nguyen]

The answer lies in the middle twenty percent, in that portion of the electorate that Logic Times and others unwisely ignored in pre-election analysis.

The "middle ground" vote in 2006 is nowhere near 20%. It is somehwere around 6-8%. He's right that conservatives were not at all gentle in their criticisms. We are passionate people, but we should temper than passion with kindness. However, we are in politics for principled reasons, not reasons of power, and we want to see an agenda enacted.

[Paulus Invictus]

My opinion? Those guys lost to RATs who actually ran using Pubbie talking points and some, like the RAT in AZ who beat Hayworth, used the very same words to describe his stance on illegals as Hayworth did, although the RAT had a pro-illegal history. I think the Pubbies were beaten by this kind of fraud and other kinds as well. Speaking of fraud, has anyone checked out the illegal Acorn outfit fined for registering thousands of dead voters across the nation? Many illegals with green cards (fake) also voted in many areas. I thought only citizens can vote.

[Sunsong]

Something like 32% of the nation is conservative, 22% is liberal and 47% is independent or moderate. The GOP lost the middle. And they lost the middle because of Iraq and corruption. It is not rocket science.

Rush is not helping anything right now. The voters want civility and respect from both sides at the moment and Rush is trashing the President for doing just that.