Too many of them have been bought, Fantasywriter. Just too many. That’s where the entire populace is headed. People generally don’t bite the hand that feeds them. I’m aware of the innate social conservatism of many if not a majority of black people, I’ve attended church with black friends numerous times. It’s a curious disconnect, between the religious beliefs and the political behavior. I’ve thought as you do in the past. It doesn’t seem tenable anymore though, sad to say. I’d love to be proved wrong.
I agree with what you said. The GOPe, working in conjunction with the Dems, has done a lot of damage. The entitlement mentality is strong. Yet Reagan faced many obstacles as well. His likeable, positive nature, as you pointed out in your first post, overcame many of them for his first win. The wave of prosperity he ushered in during his first term carried him to a great victory for his second win.
I really don’t see how it’s fundamentally different now. Yes, the entitlement mentality is deeply entrenched. But the right conservative, with a sufficiently powerful message, could quite easily win a first term, if only by a couple of percentage points. Like Reagan, they could sweep to a major second term victory on the strength of the positive developments engendered by their conservative policies. All is not lost. It just takes one really strong candidate to turn the tide, at least temporarily.