Our Republican leaders will start "acting like Republicans" when they think they can win elections that way.
You might also see TigerTale's post #140, which is a good assessment of the political realities.
You mean landslides in 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1994 weren't enough to convince you that this is generally a conservative country?
Show me the last time a liberal or a moderate won a national election in a landslide.
The line about "we can't be conservative because the country is liberal" is a lie propagated by the RINOs and their apologists here.
Most people want illegal immigration stopped (75% of Californians voted as such several years ago).
Even a majority of democrats believe in an individual Right to keep and bear arms. At the same time Bush is supporting the AWB, many democrats are opposing it. Other democrats have even signed CCW bills into law.
I could list more examples, but you get the point. Most Americans just want to be left alone by their government. The elections in 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1994 prove this.
I still believe as Reagan did that Americans will generally do the right thing when presented with all the facts.