Personally, I don't think it was ever really there.
GWB barely squeaked by Gore, and only beat Kerry by a couple of percent and he was the most conservative candidate we could nominate.
I could be wrong and a lot of conservatives actually were that stupid.
GWB barely squeaked by Gore, and only beat Kerry by a couple of percent...
Point is, the conservative vote was there for Bush.
Why wasn't it there for McCain? Because McCain wasn't a conservative...or anything close to it.
I voted for McCain...but without any enthusiasm. And, if 7 million conservatives chose to stay home, I can understand why.
If one is trying to win an election, it's not a good idea to start off by insulting your own voters.