Unfortunately for the Republic, the only principle that matters to either political party is "power". And please don't use that "we must be in power" to accomplish anything. The GOP had the whole enchilada only to squander the opportunities they had.
Sorry if it sounds harsh, but this old man is sick and tired of them all. R's and D's.
Who are "they?"
You believe all Repubs think alike? What a joke!
No, I "give a crap" because even after the betrayal and earned electoral catastrophe, we have Steele as RNC chairman, leading candidates Romney and Huckleberry, and McCain as a major spokesman.
They don't learn--or refuse to give up power--so the only first step in any type of recovery for freedom, for the USA, for our society is the total destruction of the Republican Party.
I have never voted (since 1968), and will never vote, for a Democrat. But I WILL either skip a race (if there are none but Ds and Rs) or vote only for those third-party candidates whose same goal is that destruction.