[Kuksool]

{I believe that the religious right seriously underestimates how negatively the average voter perceives them, and how susceptible the average voter is to leftist scare tactics waving the spectre of the religious right like the 'bloody shirt'.}

The shrill rhetoric of the "religious right" is the reason states like CA, NJ, WA, and OR are danger zones for the GOP. However, the "religious right" vote is a valuable asset for the GOP. Last year, the "religious right" provided the muscle to elect Sen. Wayne Allard (CO), Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC), and Sen. John Conryn (TX). Moderate to Liberal Republicans can't afford to dismiss the "religious right." At the same time, the "religious right" must understand that the GOP does not stand for "God's Own Party."

[CatoRenasci]

I agree with you. The country is large, and what's mainstream varies from place to place.

Because the religious right is concentrated in areas where they are not so far out of the mainstream, they fail to understand that in states such as those you mentioned (and I would add upstate New York, CT, MN, MI MD and other states that have recently barely elected Republicans after long periods, or where Republicans barely lost recent elections), they are perceived as way outside the mainstream.

Likewise, we who live in those places with a more socially liberal climate of opinion need to be more sensitive to the rest of the country.

The political problem, if one reviews the results of the 2000 and 2002 elelctions, is that the more populous states with the most electoral votes and power in the House, are in the areas most uncomfortable with the rhetoric of the religious right.