Okay. I understand and don’t disagree. However, if we’re going to rebuild, what do we coalesce around? What are the core issues that we all agree on? You can’t put together a coalition of voters without a platform. Politics in general has become so sound-bite oriented, so divisive and full of factions that I really don’t know what the common threads are that hold us together. We have to identify those things, and agree on candidates based on those things, or we will just bicker ourselves to insignificance while the pragmatists (and/or those who will say anything to anybody to gain power) get their way.
I am no prophet, and I don't know. However, in your question lies the problem, i.e., what are the agreeable core issues?- and that points up great problems. Cultures have traditionally looked to "a religion" to provide bedrock values, but our country, and party has outgrown that, witness the conflict raised with a Mormon, and a Southern Baptist. We are many diverse religions, so religion is not a viable catalyst. It's somewhat hard to define Conservatism, because we have all sorts of people telling us now that McCain is conservative, when most of us know that is total BS. Many others are convinced Romney or Huckabee or even Bush are Conservative, and I don't believe that. We can't even agree on "Conservative". Everybody is now invoking Reagan but that's a fad, just like "Change" is for the Rats. So I am in the same boat as you- I don't really know what we need, just that we need another primary system for starters.