Getting back to the thread... it's sort of like Limbaugh saying he still wants to advance conservatism while a few short months ago, he supported that socialist Romney. A man whose proudest achievement in Massachusetts is exactly what that Marxist is about to ram down throats of the entire country.
“After the behavior of the GOP’s most recent president and Congress, how can the party realistically claim that it stands for the reduction of the state or fiscal responsibility?”
Conservatism is not about the choice between good and bad, it is about the choice between bad and worse. That is the bitter truth, and it has always been this way. We make the choice, to keep this thing we call civilization functioning. It is our responsibility to prevent disaster, which is always not too far away.
We cannot put that responsibility off on “Republicans”, and petulantly excuse ourselves from our duty because of their defects. We have to evaluate our options and hold our noses to do the necessary. Maybe we cannot realistically expect either the reduction of the state or fiscal responsibility. If so (and it is so, for the moment), then it is our duty to back whoever will be the most dilatory in expanding the state.