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Ford, a moderate/slash liberal couldn't win election. Reagan, a Conservative won in two landslides. Bush 41, moderate, won on Reagan's coattails, but not with the same landslide. He lost four years later standing on his own. '92 house Republicans embraced conservative philsophies and re-took the House. Dole, a moderate, couldn't take out a Liberal disguised as a moderate that got less then 50% of the national vote. That means a Republican MODERATE that everyone says is our key to conservative victory...and how twisted is that rational? had 51% of the vote up for grabs and he barely got in the low '40 percentage. Republicans PLUS newt go native and in '98 Reps lose seats in the house. G.W.B. comes along preaching 'compassionate conservatism' and barely manages to squeak out a victory due in large part to hatred of Clinton as well as enough of the pro-life block (those that didn't jump after the DUI broke) to get four years in office. in 2002 they run a conservative campaign around Homeland defense, judges, and tax cuts and pick up seats. in 2004 G.W.B. runs a conservative CAMPAIGN and largely due to the pro=defense block and the conservative movement as a whole interested in judges gives us a comfortable majority. In 2006 after abandoning practically every conservative promise in practice, they try to cut corners and fake out conservatives by bringing up measures at the last minute that a) they knew wouldn't pass (marriage amendment) or b) they had no intention of enforcing (border).

Some conservatives, like myself, reluntantly vote for them at the end and probably staved out a worse defeat then would have occured by doing so. But I did NOT defend republicans nor spend months before the election doing anything but bashing them. think I'm alone in that? hardly. What the Republicans did in effect was KILL their most powerful PR tool by killing their base's enthusiasm to get them elected. So even if some of the base turned out, those blue dogs certainly did NOT and swung to the Dems. After all, the only ones getting any positive press were the Dems. from their own supporters..but that's more then the Reps were getting from theirs. nor did the reps deserve positive press.

Now we're hearing only a liberal republican can win. tell me how, cause history does NOT validate your argument. FACT: only when conservatives are motivated for Republicans enthusiastically do they win. no, the party can't win only with conservatives. But conservatives are their best PR unit that surpasses the MSM and without them they are DOA.

If anyone thinks Rudy will get better press from the MSM because he is a Liberal, go research how they savaged Ford. They WILL bring up every liberal position he supports over and over until the glossy good feelings of his performance on 9-11 for conservatives are stripped away and they will have a very difficult time supporting Rudy the Liberal politician in the end, rather then rudy the 9-11 mayor. and don't think those moderates are exactly okay with a man in drag, no matter how squishy they are on other topics. this is a visual society and that image is going to be competing with 9-11 tape equally.

Can Rudy win the election? Sure. he cn win the primary and he can win the election, though it'll be tougher then some of you "pragmatists" think. But I doubt hd's be elected to a second term if he did. 41 wasn't, and Ford couldn't win election after a couple years governing from the left. the only two to win twice were either a) conservative or b) campaigned as conservative.

While I'm not opposed to limiting, unofficially, our choice for president to a single four years to avoid a second termer from screwing us after they win...it won't happen. That means IF we folded and supported Rudy that in 2012 we'd have a Liberal democrat in the W.H. following a 2008 liberal republican. I'd rather try to get a conservative in 2008, and if we fail, wait till 2012 for another shot at a conservative prez then get stuck with at least eight years of two liberal presidents.