Even though this OregonLive article's focus was primarily on the downsides of the current Republican purge/purification strategy[of being Republican enough], I think that it also accurately defined some of the pendulum swing type issues currently faced by the Republican Party. From: <link>

" And, with the latest Washington Post/ABC poll showing only 21 percent of voters identifying as Republicans ... [Implication: The Republican Party is in danger of becoming irrelevant?] ...

All Parties in power foul up eventually -- as all Democrats remember.

It's a powerful temptation for election losers to think that voters just didn't understand you, and that the answer is to say the same thing again louder. But outside of certain countries where electoral traditions tend to yield to semiautomatic weapons, Parties don't usually purge themselves to power. ... "

The problem with current crop of republicans is that most of them are disciples of people like Gingrich, DeLay, or Rush. They believe any kind of compromise is a sign of weakness and that the only way to get things done is to just steamroll over anyone in your path. Many of them hold a deep authoritarian streak that requires near-lockstep thinking.

The supreme arrogance was on display last week when Rush dismissed the GOP's half-hearted attempt at a listening tour by saying, "We don't need a listening tour. We need a teaching tour." That's how he and others of his ilk view their recent defeats: The American people are just too ignorant. Don't both trying to figure out what the average American's concerns are. Don't try to develop new ideas on how to address those concerns, just keep repeating the same points that you lost on last time, only louder and more obnoxious.

A lot of their fossilized thinking stems from their fanatical worship of Reagan. David Frum wrote a great article in Time this week where points out one simple fact: Reagan was elected nearly 30 years ago. His ideas may have been what the country needed to get out of the "malaise" of the 70s. But it's a different world with different concerns today. The GOP doesn't just need a rebranding, they need new ideas.

The interesting thing about that is that Reagan was never "bitter or mean." He had the steely, ideological certitude conservatives crave, but he combined that with wit and warmth. He never appeared "embattled," which since limbaugh/Gingrich has been THE default conservative media stance, whether in power (which highlights this stance's absurdity) or not. Reagan always gave the appearance that he was negotiating from a position of strength. Clinton had a bit of this characteristic, too--and both were able to get work done with Congress.

A conservative would never say they need new ideas. But they do need a great communicator.

What both parties don't seem to be able to understand, with the exception of our President, is that our foundation for national security and prosperous future is domestic manufacturing. All of the companies who have started in this country and have made billions of dollars that recirculated within this country now show absolutely no patriotic allegiance to the USA. We can do one or two of several things:

Agree to work for 80 cents an hour to compete with the slaves in Red China

Entice those companies to return their manufacturing to the USA with huge tax incentives.

Enable new companies through huge tax incentives to start producing a higher quality product in the USA to compete with those who left.

And I am willing to hear any new suggestions.

Hellzapoppin:

The interesting thing about that is that Reagan was never "bitter or mean." He had the steely, ideological certitude conservatives crave, but he combined that with wit and warmth. He never appeared "embattled," which since limbaugh/Gingrich has been THE default conservative media stance, whether in power (which highlights this stance's absurdity) or not. Reagan always gave the appearance that he was negotiating from a position of strength. Clinton had a bit of this characteristic, too--and both were able to get work done with Congress.

A conservative would never say they need new ideas. But they do need a great communicator.

You are so right! I disagreed profoundly with most of Reagan's policy decisions. But I give the man credit for taking American "conservatism" (however briefly) into the mainstream. He got the movement to -- for a time -- shed its style of chronic "outrage" and embittered self-pity. Reagan presented a face of conservatism that, at least on its surface, seemed to embrace all Americans and strive for an affirmative, optimistic path for the future.

None of Reagan's apostles seem to have grasped that message at all. Almost immediately after Reagan left office, Republicans launched their Culture Wars -- telling us, in effect, that most Americans are "the real enemy"; that only endless purges can save America from Americans. It was inevitable that this theme would end up with Republican leaders braying out their desire to see an administration fail -- in the midst of two wars and a depression, yet!

Reagan's greatest strength was his ability to be positive, even during the height of the cold war. Whatever you think of his views or policies, the man radiated optimism. Today's republicans only remember his anti-big government views but forget his very sincere belief in America's ability to overcome any adversity. That's why all of their justifications for torture boil down to, "we were scared shitless after 9/11".

Reagan became president during a time when a nuclear armegeddon between the United States and the USSR was widely regarded as not just a possibility, but almost a foregone conclusion. Compared to the destruction of human civilization, the threat Al Qaida poses pales and the threat Saddam Hussein was non-existant, but for nearly 8 years, the republicans succeeded in getting away with things Reagan would never have by ginning up people's fears of another 9/11. They've ridden the fear train as far as it could take them, however. They just haven't realized that the American people aren't buying fears based on plots lifted from 24 anymore.