The main problem is that the majority of the nation is far from conservative and we lack an articulate, charismatic spokesman.
We are also a victim of our own success. The GOP had the intellectual/momentum edge when we had stagflation, hostages in Iran, and a high marginal tax rate under a weak Democratic administration.
Moreover, the GOP had six years to demonstrate to the world the effectiveness of conservative governance. Instead they enacted huge entitlement programs, increased spending, and generally governed like liberals. They blew their chance, and it may never come again.