Peter brings up a very good example of how Republicans can win:
First of all: You are Republicans, you are supposed to be the party of smaller Government, lower taxes, and smaller budgets. When you run on those principles, you win. When you don’t, you lose. If you want an example, I can provide 2. Paul Ryan, who is fairly hard Right, won big in areas of his district that went hard for Obama, and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, who is another strong Conservative, who has won in Milwaukee County in landslides, the same year they voted heavily for Democrat Jim Doyle for Governor.
There are a lot of examples of conservatives who ran clear, articulate campaigns that managed to win in this overwhelmingly Democratic year. The problem Republicans too often have, and a big problem McCain had, is being unable to translate conservative values into people’s lives. You can try to explain the Laffer Curve to people, but half won’t understand, and the other half won’t care. But you can get people to relate to having more money to provide for their families, and keeping more money on Main Street, rather than in Washington. Great politicians know how ordinary people think, and can translate their values into showing how it will positively effect their lives and their communities. One reason I think libertarians have been so stunningly unsuccessful is because we’re a lot more interested in philosophy, economic theory, liberty, and other abstract concepts, when most people are interested in improving their lives. We have to learn to speak about our issues on that level, or people will never vote for them.
