Eric Florack — McCain was defeated because conservatives and libertarians — who would usually be supportive of real conservatives — sat on their hands in November, having identified McCain not as a conservative but as part of the problem.
There were some 104 million votes, and you claim that McCain lost because the conservatives sat at home. Somwhow I doubt that a) this is true and b) you have this magical insight into the mind of everyone who didn’t go to the polls.
The growth of government (the dominant social feature of this century) must be fought relentlessly.
Conservatism isn’t about smaller government and never has been as long as you have been alive. (e.g. Ike spent a lot on the military road system you now know as the interstates.)
The government also exists to do that which private industry cannot do. There are many who would argue that NASA shouldn’t exist. However because of NASA the government *could* solve US energy needs by causing the construction of spaceborne solar. Private industry doesn’t have the scale to solve this. The government could also solve much of the US energy needs by causing a couple of hundred nuclear plants to be built. Private industry doesn’t have the funds or scaling for that in a hurry either. Where the GOP has succeeded is growing government ever so slightly in service to the people via investment.
Republicans as a party shouldn’t be, as they have been, focused on the idea that we need to change in order to be relevant.
All this chatter about the GOP abandoning conservative roots is a steaming load of wishful thinking. You and those like you will be fervent believers in the truth of this until the next election. Because the left is insane and will invariably go off the deep end, the GOP may triumph in the next election due to this alone, and you and yours will interpret this just as incorrectly as you have the recent election.
