Just the Christian Right, estimated to be actively 30m participants, can be doubled if the Christians have a righteous reason to turn out. When is the last time the Christian Right's turnout even measured the full 30m?
The rest of the Conservative movement is much harder to measure than the Judeo-Christians, as they don't have regular memberships and meeting places, but the rule is the very same.
That is why Reagan Conservatism swamps all comers when it is tried- because all three pillars are attracted naturally to the candidates, and all three pillars come a'running with bells on.
It is TRUE Conservatism that would win the day- A commitment set_in_stone to principled Conservatism, Contract-with-America style, by a principled Conservative of unshakable qualifications. It has always been the case, and will always be so.
With that in mind, the author is partially right- The likes of Mitt Romney, or Sarah Palin, or any other who is not fully and completely a Reaganite Conservative is as doomed to failure as the next.
It is imperative, here on FR, of all places, the beginning of netroots, and the paramount Conservative meeting place on the web, that we move mightily to lift up those who are Reaganites, in the mold of Hunter, Tancredo, Keyes, DeMint, and etcetera, and quit falling for this absurd "electability" nonsense which has gotten us here we are- Lest we do exactly the same thing next time around.
When the opinions of Conservative powerhouses such as Schafley, Ingraham, and Malkin are intentionally maligned, and Conservatism is shouted down, here, of all places, we lend ourselves, and our aggregated power, to the very causes we purport to oppose.
That is not only the most relevant lesson of this past season, it is also the most shameful.