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I see things a little different than you do, but I'm not trying to take you to the woodshed here, because I believe there are two decent arguments to be made on some of these issues. I merely express my viewpoint, because I believe it is a valid one as well, and I want to see the counter argument made. Lets go...

“It’s going to take a populist with the right message and the right policies to over-ride the GOPe, the RNC, and the Leftist Republican Talking Heads.”

I keep writing the same thing. Believe it or not, there really is a lot of common ground between Democrat and Republican voters. It’s just not the same common ground the political elites (in both parties) think,

First off, I hadn't intended to address a Democrat inclusion in the support of this hypothetical candidate. I was merely addressing the ability of us to push through someone with good ideals over the objections and game playing of the GOPe, the RNC, and the Leftist Republican talking heads.

Once that's done though, you're right. This person will then be trying to win support from the Democrats, and I agree with your take. Against conventional thought, I also believe Conservative ideals, if presented properly, will resonate with at least some voters across political lines. Of course the Republicans will go for it, but I also believe the Reagan Democrat phenominon will once again come into effect, only this time it will be properly labeled by the name of whichever candidate is picked as the nominee. The Palin Democrats could be a term heard in 2016 a lot. Perhaps the Cruz Democrats...

One thing prevents this dynamic. If it's a Lefty Republican, why bother? Leftists will stay within party ranks. They can already find that in their own party.

We were in agreement on the above. You just took it farther than I did. I'll try to address the duel party reaction to the next issues. I'll also interject my own thoughts on each issue. There'll be some disagreement. That's okay.

Americans are sick and tired of foreign entanglements.

I don't honestly know what percentage of the American pulblic wants us out of Afghanistan right this minute. I would suspect it's a high number. The main reason why, is we haven't had anyone making the case for why we are sitll engaged there for going on seven years now. There ia a decent argument for getting us out. We've all heard it. A lot of people buy into it here. I'm not one of them. It is still my opinion that by engaging in that region, we suck terrorists into the vortex and keep them occupied there instead of elsewhere. I'm not coinvinced we're nation building. I'm not necessarily happy with the political leadership over there. It would be nice if I were, but it ins't my main thing. Would it be great if the leadership was solid? Yes. I'd much prefer that.

After 09/11, there needed to be a clear message sent that the United States would not sit idly by and allow that sort of thing to take place without leveling withering costs on terrorsts somewhere. We did so. We have reduced the gene pool of those who want to oppose us by terrorism. I think we did about as good a job in Iraq as we could. I would have liked to have seen some things handled differently. We should have gotten oil revenue to reimburse our costs. We didn't. We may have left a bit too early. I still think Iraq is doing better than it was before we went in. Some folks think our national debt was ravaged by the costs. I'm not one of them. Yes the cost of the wars are probably in the range of $3 to $4 trillion. I think it's closer to $3, but others will disagree. During the period of those wars, the national debt went up by aroung $11 trillion. During that same period we spent approximately $6 trillion on welfare. Think about that. We spent twice as much on welfare as we spent on those wars, and yet you NEVER hear a damn word about that.

Our troops pay a price. They do in every war. I don't like it. It is what it is. We have guys who are very dedicated to the battle over there. I respect them and the job they are doing. And if a large body of them still think they need to be there, and I beleive they do, then who am I to disagree. They are dedicated. I am dedicated to them, and standing by their adherence to what they consider their duty. I realize not all of them feel that way. Many of them do. I stand with those men in spirit. I appreciate very much the job they are doing, despite the fact our leaders have their heads firmly implanted as to rules of engagement. At least thats my thought.

I do think Demcorats and Republicans can be reached on this issue, from your vantage point. Honestly, I'd rather see the reasons for being there brought before the public again. I think it's imporant, because the sooner we leave, the sooner we'll see a massive terrorist attack elsewhere. With us in the region now, the enemy is exposed to our retaliation. Once we leave, they won't be. And they'll rightfully assess, that we won't be back, letting them get away with whatever they want essentially penalty free. Not good.

They don’t want amnesty.

That's right. Not only that, people aren't stupid. They don't want Registration of illegal aliens to take place, and then allow them to Remain in Place. It's amnesty and every person over the age of ten knows it, except party hacks and politicians in Washington, D. C.. Democrats and Repubicans can be reached with sound policy on this subject. Withdraw all services over a twelve month period, or a period to be determined. Start enforcing work-place laws on the books now. Start educating the illegal aliens here, so that they understand the gig is up. Be nice otherwise, but let them know they kneed to either repatriate, or they will be caught and deported. Demand that every government agency participate in enforcement. The end!.

They don’t want unlimited abortion on demand at any time for any reason.

No they don't. Republicans don't. Many Democrats don't. Many women don't. Pinining the numbers down is tough, but on the issue of should there be less abortions, the vast majority of people believe so. I believe that it is true that abortion rates are going down. I know a number of abortion centers have closed their doors. I don't believe only Conservatives are affecting these numbers. Democrat women are contributing to the decline. Say what we want, the momentum is with us on abortion, and I think it's high time we ran on a platform that simply states that we care for the unborn, and would through education and public perception, like to reduce the numbers of infants killed to as near to zero as we can get..We can address it as something our civilization can be proud of doing, reducing the numbers, and praise those who chose to help with that effort. We are on the cusp of seeing abortion deemed a terrible thing to do, socially unacceptable. Approached right we can capitlize on that. Demorats as well as Republicans will see it as non-threatening to participate by choice. I think we can make massive inroads by doing this with the support of sympathetic people on the other side. It takes the "threat" out of it. That allows folks to join together. We can score huge on this IMO..

They don’t want government collecting metadata, aka unconstitutionally spying, on them.

No they don't. And that's what is taking place. They don't however have a problem with a warrant being issued to get this data. And in the instance of a national security matter, I don't believe they care if someone captures data on good faith, pending a warrant, if a terrorist attack is deemed imminent. People are not at war with themselves. They understand the needs of the law inforcement community as it relates to terrorism. They just rightfully objecting to the wholesale capturing of every damned second of their electronic lives. The government needs to back off, crawl back into it's shell, and act like the decent law abiding agencies they are supposed to be.

Citizens are more than willing to be reasonable. They want the government to be also. Democrats and Republicans are reachable here.

Marriage “equality” isn’t a big priority (unlike the media’s spin).

Agreed. The propaganda machine, the schools... This needs to stop in it's tracks. I forget if it is possible for the President to remove judges. If possible, and only if legal, I would like to see the Republicans start to address activist judges.

If it isn't legislated, then the judge better pack his bags if he tries to legislate from the bench. It is malefeasance in office, and grounds for dimissal..

They’re tired of all the government waste and the crony deals with insiders (corporations, banks, etc).

This is another area I see a bit differently. Let's remember that the government demanded banks and lending institutions extend bad paper loans to people who couldn't make payments. Judges stepped in. Community organizers did. Banks scrambled to protect themselves by bundling ther paper. Fannie May and Freddie Mac as well as Wall Street bought up that paper. Why? Because if they hadn't the banks would have been destroyed, far worse than they were. Now I'm not saying all banks and lending institutons or Wall Street were pristine here, but I'll have to say I don't think they were any more crooked than Congress, the Senate, many judges, and the Democrat party in total. Just about everyone had filthy hands in this. The politicians passed it off as crooks. They just didn't admit to being part of the crooks, and they were. And what's more, this is still going on today. I don't know that we won't have another 2008 in the not too distant future. With all the government refinancing, much of it has been to people who will never pay it back. What then?

My emphasis would be to take it right to the government, the judges, and the Leftist activiests. I don't think it helps to undercut banks, and Wall Street. We need faith in those insitutions, and who did more than anyone else to destroy that faith? Barney Frank et al.

I know that isn't the popular stance, but I think it gives fiscally sound Republicans a platform to run on that promises fiscally sound policies, and holding politicians and judges to account. Every judge that had a parti in demanding bad loans be extended, should be removed from the bench. And when you get rid of them, you'll be getting ride of a bunch of Lefty activists that want to legislate from the bench

I wouldn't go heavy on blaming Democrats during the campaign. I'd just touch on the acts politicians played in all this. The Dems couldn't object. And as they were mowed down on election day, the results would be exactly what was called for..

They’re sickened by the way everything is made in China these days, and most important of all, they want JOBS!

Exactly right. I'd be playing up the 25% of our workforce out of work and another 25% making significantly less than they were six years ago. You don't have to mention Obama's name. Folks know. Folks on both sides of the isle know.

At any rate, that's my take on it.

I think you've touched on important areas here. We see the situation a bit different, but that's okay. The important thing is to let the public know we recognize the problem, and we're going to get it right when we're in control.

Playing up the political angle rather than the domestic angle, allows our people to buttress the idea it's time for a change, and this is how to go about it, electing our people.

It's an effective plan IMO. These aren't the only issues either.

I'd take universities, our K-12th grade teachers, and the media to task, demanding that some form of political equity be achieved. If affirmative action is good for some of the people it should be good for all the people. And that applies to the jobs in these fields too.

it's far past time to go to war with the Left.