Besides average citizens who post on Free Republic, what political candidates or office holders are talking about such things? In your previous post, you insinuated that voters were turned off by "crazy" talk. Ok. What politicians are you referring to, specifically?
What I am saying is that if we want to make inroads in purple and blue states, we are going to need to attract some voters that don't ordinarily vote for us. Being a happy warrior is a good start. Talking calmly and with an even temper gets you further. Paying lip service to "working with the other side" is another winning position...
That is some of the squishiest RINO speak I've ever read on Free Republic. What wins elections, is staying true to your principles, and having the courage to give voice to them at every opportunity. Ronald Reagan taught us that, and more recently, Ted Cruz proved that lesson is still valid today.
You're suggesting we adopt the McCain/Graham/Romney model, which gains you lots of friends on the left, but undermines and ultimately destroys everything Republicans supposedly stand for.
As I said earlier, you're trying to analyze American politics through the lens of a bygone era. You're no longer dealing with people who fundamentally agree with you on American basics, but with hardened radicals who want to burn the Constitution and our history books. It's not even possible to reason with such people. You can't attract them to the party by any amount of happy talk and compromise.
No, the only thing that rings their bell is Socialism, and if you think we can out Democrat the Democrats, you're as deluded as the GOP-e (which you sound exactly like).
What wins elections, is staying true to your principles, and having the courage to give voice to them at every opportunity.
You think that's it? You think that's mostly what it takes? You are so naive. Good grief man, the average citizen is a political idiot. Not just here, almost everywhere. Human nature is the first consideration. You have to determine which, among your slate of possible candidates, is ELECTABLE in said district/state/etc. Alan Keyes stayed true to his principles as much or more than anyone around - why isn't he a Senator in Maryland or Illinois? Why is he not President for that matter. There are candidates all over the country - left and right, that absolutely adhere to principles and they get destroyed election cycle after election cycle. The most important thing about a candidate is whether they are capable of being a skilled, charismatic politician.
Politics is a skill. Most people take a long time to get good at it, some people are naturals. How many times do we hear from people "oh how I wish regular people would run and win elections"? Quite a lot. We've all probably even read that sentiment here. The problems is, people won't, usually, actually vote for those kind of candidates. They don't have the political skill to avoid gaffes that destroy their campaign. All it takes is one stupid comment and an entire campaign is ruined. Just ask Akin or Murdoch.