“But a party that’s gotten its butt kicked in the last two presidential cycles by appealing to a small and shrinking slice of the electorate”
McCain and Romney did appeal to a shrinking slice of people that want out of touch rino elites. Christie would likely do no better because he would alienate conservatives and libertarians.
Isn’t it odd that a very few short years ago, conservatism was growing and taking the country by storm. Even most Dems think that conservative concepts are the most sensible ways to live—even if they think that voting against common sense and prosperity will enable them to avoid the laws of physics. If conservatism had a public presence in pop culture and in the information services (media), socialism would wither and collapse with rapidity. People cannot eat socialism, they need jobs and need to keep their earnings to buy food. And, no sane adult wants to give most of their earnings to other people who can take care of themselves.