If you look at party indentification of voters, self declared ‘Republicans’ have been dropping like stone for several years.
I fear the “GOP” brand is damaged in the eyes of voters and citizens do not want to self-indentify with it.
Moderates: Moderate Republicans are now more socially/fiscally liberal. Identify and voted for Obama. “Lets give him a chance.” “Reaganism is dead”. “Lets open the borders”.
Conservatives: Conservative Republicans are socially/fiscally conservative and can not tolerate what the GOP leadership has done to the Republican party of the past several years and do not identify as Republicans anymore but ‘independents’.
Solution?
1) Conservatives must kick liberal/moderate Republican leadership OUT of the party. The race to out Democrat - Democrats simply does not work and never will. Being moderate means never taking a stand on any issue lest you offend someone. That is not leadership.
2) Set in writing a core set of party principles similar to wildly effective and long forgotten by our leadership “Contract with America”.
3) Don’t tolerate RINO’s in the party leadership because you see where that gets you ‘Spector, Snowe, Jeffords, etc).
“I fear the “GOP” brand is damaged in the eyes of voters and citizens do not want to self-indentify with it.”
Nothing is permanent. Work to fix the brand.