I have a feeling what we'll see is what we've seen in the past couple of election cycles. Most people on the 'Pub/conservative side will support our candidate, some albeit reluctantly, but in the end they will get those votes.
We'll lose the middle ground and independents (who generally decide the overall race) if our candidate is seen as one-dimensional and/or a caricature conservative ideologue. Reagan and Nixon were able to avoid that and present either an appealing image or reasonable alternative and won big victories. Goldwater was not able to escape that image and was clobbered, TrueconservativeTM though he was.
The party has to recruit solid candidates who will hold the base and be attractive to a range of voters and, yes, be perceived as competent. We need to win back voters in swing states like OH, and recapture our former strength in places like FL and NC. We can do it, but not by fighting each other instead of the 'Rats.
I agree with every word you say...we are trying to rebuild in Ohio...people don’t understand when Senators (mostly from the South) show contempt for the Mid West, it infuriates people and makes our job much harder. If you can’t say something positive then don’t say anything...please!