[wideawake]

You honestly think the liberals don't control the GOP? Or that conservatives control the conversation or anything?

I said nothing of the kind.

What I said is that the GOP does best when conservatives control the conversation in the GOP.

When the GOP is purely an ideological pressure group it experiences disaster (1964) and when it is purely a talk shop without firm conservative principles it experiences disaster (2006).

When the GOP is broader than just doctrinaire conservatives, but is dominated by conservative ideas and goals, the GOP does well (1984, 1994).

[Ingtar]

...it experiences disaster (2006,2008) might say it better.