So, you don't think we can change the standard? The Tea Party is working hard to do just that, along with conservatives, like Cruz, Lee, and Rand. Then, we have congresscritters like Boehner and McDonnell belittling them. Even with all the ragging, the Tea Party will stand strong, and if they fail, we have the GOPe to blame as well as democrats.
With all due respect, as much as I agree with folks like Cruz on the substance of things, I don't think conservatives in Congress, or in general, are really being constructive about changing the standard because - assuming for the sake of argument that the standard needs changing - their stands, while virtuous in theory, are in practice not very constructive because they never get anywhere, and they don't appear to have produced much other than theatrics. flirting with martyrdom might be seductive, but martyrs don't generally get much done after their martyrdom.
And, quite honestly, part and parcel of changing the standard through example, which is what I suppose they're being feted for, is knowing how to strategically compromise so that, at the end of the day, you can say that you got more than you gave away. And giving something away is the name of the game; you do not get anywhere in politics if you either (a) don't bring anything you can trade with, or (b) refuse to trade any of your toys with the other kids.
That is what sets Reagan apart from (almost) every other contender for conservative leader of the GOP: the ability to strategically compromise - to get back more than you give away. Part and parcel of that skill is being able to prioritize your principles and goals (i.e., your "toys") and to decide in order which ones you cannot compromise without compromising your fundamentals (your raison d'etre), which ones you can and, with respect to the latter, develop a hierarchy that runs from the most dispensable to the least dispensable. As an aside, for these purposes it's very useful to have some cheap but flashy toys in your possession so that you can make a great show of how committed you are to compromising, to working together with the other side, without actually giving away the family jewels.
And no, I'm not defending the current GOP power structure or folks like Boehner and McCain because, quite frankly, they stink at the art of compromise as well. In contrast to the conservatives, who don't seem to be able to compromise at all, Boehner & Co. will compromise at the drop of a hat but don't seem to have any idea what can be readily compromised and what should not be compromised without getting something very dear back in return.
In other words, republicans, moderates as well as conservatives, need to (re)learn the art of strategic politics, of which the art of strategic compromise is a subset.