[Old_Mil]

So with that said, I'll throw my support to whomever does stand an actual chance of doing something I can see Republicans haven't quite gotten the grasp of yet. Actually winning elections.

You seem to be putting the cart before the horse. What is important is standing for solidly conservative principles and thereby pulling the nation back from the brink - compare Reagan's first 4 to Carter's 4. Winning elections is irrelevant if you surrender on the major issues of the day to win them.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

Reagan did not win in 1980 because this country had a sudden shift ideologically to conservative priciples. The country was sick of Jimmy. Still the race was tight going into the last weeks. People were still wary of RR. In the last debate, however, RR convinced people that he wasn't the nutcase the Dems and the media suggested and the tide turned.

Reagan did not win in 1980 because the country had a sudden conversion to conservative principles. He won because the country was sick of Jimmy. Unlike the election of 1932, when the Dems swept the Republicans out of Congress by large margins, Reagan never got a Republican majority in the House.

Even when in office, Reagan, apart from his tax, military and foreign policy agenda had an incredibly difficult time getting his agenda passed. Even then, his term was marked by some decisions that made conservatives wince.

No President is perfect. Every one is forced to surrender some principle to reality, circumstances, and political restraints.