We peeked too early in 2010. This election cycle proving to be an EXACT rerun of 1994/1196. And it's just as depressing to me now as it was back then.
We won a glorious victory in ‘94 that stopped clintoon and the hildabeast from completing their destruction of America. But we ran out of gas in ‘96. We allowed a really weak candidate (Dole) to get the nomination, and the ‘bent one’ was allowed to infest the Oval Office for four more years.
We are underground getting ready to throw another tantrum that will even stun the RINOs. How dare they think we would give up our country for a European version!!
Reagan himself couldn't have beat Clinton in 1996, thanks, in part, to the new Republican congress who forced Clinton to govern from the center --which he was able to do successfully. It's strange to consider that had the Republicans not taken control of congress in '94, Clinton would've likely been a failed one-termer ala Carter. Clinton took credit for everything (including the then booming tech industry that he had absolutely nothing to do with).
The reason is, conservatives in general get busy when they see a threat, get after it one or two election cycles, and when it seems that they might be pretty well left alone, they go back to making a living and tending their families ‘til the next agressive action against them.
For the liberal, they want something specific from government, and they know politics is a continuing game and so they just stay organized and make politics a part of their life.
Remember though that BJ won both times with a plurality due to HRP.