Well then....there you have it!
Glad you posted this. Hadn't seen it the first time.
Gerald Ford....Robert Dole...John McCain....Mitt Romney, for chrissakes. ALL had their a$$es handed to them.
The question that keeps coming back to me is...How could so-called intelligent people keep making the same mistakes over and over again? SOMEBODY is out-of-touch with the American Electorate....and it's not the people in the Trump camp.
That's a fair criticism DC. Each of them did lose. Having said that though, who in your mind from the more right wing candidates would have then drawn all the independents and moderate Dems who voted for the Democrat? If a moderate couldn't win, how could someone more conservative. Republicans had learned from the 1964 election that throwing in a very strong conservative could have its pitfalls in a general election. In 1976 Ford was the incumbent, and in spite of pardoning Nixon was pretty likely to win. His mistake was in not selecting Reagan as his running mate.
In 2008, who on the right could have inspired the Country to elect him rather than McCain? Could it be Keyes, Tancredo, Huckabee, Paul, Brownback, Thompson, Hunter?
In 2012 who could have brought in the entire Party and those who voted for Obama? Perhaps Paul, maybe Cain, Perry, Santorum, Gingrich? These guys ate themselves for lunch during the debates.
Reagan won two terms because he could inspire, and he brought in the Reagan Democrats. Even Reagan distanced himself from the right wing as his nomination acceptance speech reflected. But I've yet to see another such voice for all the Party.
Also it's important to remember influences outside of political ideology that motivate voters. Wars and economies frequently play a significant role. Romney should have beaten Obama, but the timing of Hurricane Sandy gave Obama a second wind (so to speak). And of course in 2008, the economy, the war and Bush fatigue all led to McCain's defeat, not to mention his poor campaign.
I would love to see a reaganesque voice out there who I thought could bring the Country together. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have one. I know who I won't vote for this Saturday; I'm just not sure who I will pull the lever for.