Well said...
"Bill Clinton said it best on The Daily Show in 2004: "If you're a Democrat, you win when people think." Voters tend to think most when they're facing adversity. The recessions of 1992 and 2008 led to Democratic victories. The better economic conditions of 1988 and 2004 allowed Republicans to snag voters by touting the Pledge of Allegiance and flag-burning amendments. But this strategy isn't sustainable. Ignoring the real issues doesn't really work when people are losing their homes, their health care and their retirement savings -- largely because of your policies.
The verdict is in: a dismal approval rating for Republicans alongside a popular Democratic president with a soon-to-be filibuster-proof Senate majority. Unless the GOP plans to make its opponents die of laughter, party leaders will take this nadir as an opportunity to restore common sense and dignity. There's an important place in American politics for honest conservative thought, but sadly, no party represents it anymore.
The only way for Republicans to escape this rush to oblivion is to reject the elements that are disintegrating their ideological core. Believers in limited government and individual liberty shouldn't legislate personal issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. Instead of denying climate change, devise practical, market-based solutions to mitigate it. Support the free market, but stop ascribing magical powers to it. End the silly wars against science and intellectualism. And crucially, stop letting religion infiltrate politics to such a chilling degree -- secularism is perhaps the most sacred American value.
Breaking from tradition won't be easy for the party of traditional values. But if Republicans want to remain a serious political outfit in the long-run, they need to kick their bad habits and stand for real principles. This means resisting the cheap but politically advantageous tides and instead leading the right-wing constituency in a more thoughtful and scrupulous direction. Do it for your country, conservatives. There's no better or more important time than now.
Nothing will be more ironic than if the party that snubs evolution winds up extinct because it refused to adapt."