Then why were the only conservative candidates in the GOP primary dead on arrival even in the most conservative states' primaries? The fact that there were no nationally well known conservatives in the race was no doubt one reason, but RINOs such as Romney, Giuliani, McCain, etc, dominated the primaries in even the most conservative states such as SC and got all the media attention from day one. That was not because anyone actually believed that ANY of the front runners were conservatives, it was because they got all the media attention and all the campaign money and no conservative got anything but a media blackout. Who was financing those RINOs? It wasn't a fairy godmother so it must have been people who wanted a RINO nominee who would once again graciously lose to a liberal Democrat after being trashed in the general campaign by the same media that worked so hard to get him nominated.
Duncan Hunter was not well known outside his CA district and the media made sure he stayed that way until he dropped out, but no one can tell me that he wouldn't have been a much stronger nominee and a much harder-hitting campaigner than McCain if he had gotten sufficient financial backing and media attention early in the primaries. As it was he was virtually ignored and shut out of the contest by the media, who of course wanted another RINO loser to destroy after playing a major role in getting him the nomination.
We can't do much about the tactics of the media, but we can reject who they choose for us to nominate. IMHO the botom line is that if conservatives are ever going to nominate another conservative and win another election we have to reject the media's choices and back a real honest to God conservative in the primaries, not just vote for whichever RINO loser the media chooses to receive it's blessing during the primary season and then trash after the convention.
The media will not ignore any candidate who in the nine months between Election Day 2010 and Labor Day 2011 raises at least $50 million. That’s $250 each from 200,000 conservatives who are active, early and engaged. Can we do it? We certainly couldn’t come within ten miles this time around. We’ll see how much Obama moves to next time.