No.
Voters who do not strongly identify with the ideological spectrum will decide the next election, as they do all watershed elections. As they did 1980.
1976: Carter 40 million, Ford 39 million. 1980: Reagan 44 million, Carter 35 million.
Democrats (-5 million) Republicans (+5 million), in a year when Democrats dominated the legislatures, the state houses, and the House of Representatives.
The winner in 2016, if he is a Republican, will need 5-9 million Obama voters to win.
If your assumption that voter behavior is determined by the voter's position on the ideological spectrum, and that all voters wear that like a uniform, then there really is no point in having an election for President in 2016.
Appealing across the ideological spectrum as McCain and Romney did is a disaster, as you rightly point out - but that's because they were targeting the wrong Democrats, and using the wrong strategy to boot.
Ronald Reagan "reached across the ideological spectrum" very successfully, by targeting white working class Democrats, and he kicked ass.
Best regards.
I’m sorry, I”m with Rush on this one...everything is ideological, whether people realize it or not.
the ONLY WAY.....ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY ONLY way Republicans EVER get moderates is by persuading them - not by JOINING them. You are indeed advocating the Washington GOP consultant thinking here....only applying it to Trump while they apply it to Jeb or Romney or McCain or whoever.