I fear that we are going into this election cycle and in 2016 as a divided political entity-I hesitate to call us a party-in which the moneyed establishment part of the party is intimidated by the media and so they offer statements up which the media exploits to prove that the conservative side of the party is too radical for prime time. The media consistently drives wedges into the Republican Party leaving it splintered and ineffectual and those wedges so often have to do with race or gender.
I agree with your points, particularly with respect to the media which is the propaganda arm for the progressive movement and its political organization, the Democrat Party.
A free press presenting competitive points of view to the public is essential for a free republic. Unfortunately the corporate press of today is something the founding fathers could not have envisioned. The broadcast media companies, and their pipelines to the public (the big cable companies) are firmly aligned with the Democrat party and the progressive vision of a socialist state. Most markets today have effectively only one newspaper and the newspapers are owned by media conglomerates who also are allied with big government and the progressive agenda.
Conservatives rely on alternative media (the internet and talk radio primarily) to reach the public but these vehicles lack the reach of the mainstream media. In addition it is only a matter of time before progressives use the power of the state to regulate speech on the internet and on talk radio. Fox News, the only balanced mass media network is owned by the aging Rupert Murdoch and will almost certainly fold in line with the other mass media outlets once he fades from the scene and his media empire is dissolved or professional managers take over.
To restore a vibrant free press, one or more of the major networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN) needs to become an outlet for the conservative point of view. It would be extremely helpful to the cause of liberty if a conservative or libertarian billionaire purchased one of the major networks in the same way Warren Buffett purchased Media General and Jeff Bezos purchased the Washington Post. In the days of the founders even small towns had competing newspapers and pamphleteers. Today significant economies of scale are required to support a news organization and editorial staff capable of disseminating messages nationally. Unless a wealthy patriot steps up to buy a major network, I fear it is only a matter of time until the federal government snuffs out free speech on the internet and talk radio. Once all media outlets support only the progressive point of view, the state will be supreme and capable of carrying out all kinds of abuses without the people knowing.