When Senator Joseph Liebermann (I-CT) broke party lines to support the President on the War on Terror the Democrats ostracized him and refused to support him for reelection. When Senator John McCain (R-AZ) failed to support his party on conservative judicial nominees in the "Gang of fourteen" the Republican establishment vote went to McCain and Hucklebee and Romney split the conservative vote between fiscal conservatives and religious conservatives. Religious conservatives distancing themselves from Romney over abortion "purists" and antiMormanism.

This situation really produces a very hard question: Are we as Republicans really the only big tent party or are we just crazy? My opinion is that because there was no clear choice for conservatives who are the majority of Republicans the establishment Republicans reemerged as victorious and moved us back to the days before Ronald Reagan. The problem is the they have gained the reigns of a party that cannot win on an establishment ideology. So I predict that conservatives cannot vote for McCain anymore than they could sort-out the Romney Hucklebee choice and that McCain will NEVER be president. When that happens McCain and the establishment Republicans have only themselves to blame. To control a losing party is really crazy! Congratulations to establishment Republicans you now have McCain to reach out to Democrat voters, but you have lost your base and you cannot win. Crazy!