What the right needs to do to regain acceptance and credibility by the mainstream

1st you sound like an anti-christian bigot. 

2nd the "right" doesn't need to be accepted by the "mainstream" because it is mainstream. 

3rd you are attempting to redefine "mainstream" as something that is really out in left field. For instance the majority of Americans believe in God, oppose abortion, do not want gov't run health care or health insurance, don't believe in global warming and even if they do they don't think dealing with it is important right now. The mainstream is not for Cap & TAX (or trade), and is not against Israel, but wants to win the war on terror. 

4th you are trying to redefine "conservative ideology" as something that is not conservative at all. 

5th your points aren't based on facts but rather leftist talking points (aka propaganda) with a few libertarian ideas thrown in. For example:

 * Palin & Huckabee have been very helpful in mobilizing conservative grassroots activism, and raising support for conservative candidates and causes. Far more so than any moderates or liberals you could name. 

 * You obviously haven't listened to any talk radio other than NPR because Limbaugh & Hannity & the rest of conservative talk radio do not espouse hate or anger as you claim. 

 * You either don't know enough about  Christianity or the founding of this country to be qualified to comment, or perhaps you're very insecure in your own lack of faith, thus you feel threatened by Christianity and compelled to attack or marginalize it somehow. 

 * You are so uninformed by the leftist media you have no idea that Conservatives have been proposing all kinds of alternative solutions - they are not even welcomed to the debate. There has been no real debate. Probably because the left cannot debate without losing - it's ideas and policies have no rational basis other than narcissism. That's why liberalism is a mental disorder and it's also why the Obama administration and the Democrat party are always trying to ram their socialist clap-trap down America's throat without a debate, they know they can't win an honest debate that's why they admire the fascist dictators of the world. 

 * You're completely wrong about being inconsistent. And you're wrong about why we oppose ObamaCare. First ObamaCare won't save any lives, it will however destroy the best healthcare system in the world. It will lead to rationing, which will lead to more people dying faster ,not fewer people dying slower. Second it makes no sense whatsoever to ruin and take away the health care coverage 85% of the US population who are happy with their coverage for the sake of the 15% who aren't. Let's have a debate about real reform - the Republicans have been begging for the chance to debate the issues - but the Dems won't have it. Third your argument is based on a false premise that it's good to spend taxpayer dollars to help people. That's not the job of the gov't to "help" people, that's what charities and churches are for. Your argument is inconsistent because you want God & Religion separated from Gov't presumably because you fear the imposition of Christian or religious ideas upon you, but you have no problem with the imposition of gov't health care or gay marriage, and/or the taking of taxpayer dollars to "help people", fund abortions, and so on. The left claims it wants gov't to help people, but it doesn't help people - the policies of the left hurt people, countless more people have been killed, countless more died needlessly because of the policies of the left. Leftist ideas do not empower people, they enslave them. 

 * The science is definitely not in as you say. Man-made global warming is a complete hoax. There has been no warming for over decade. Thousands of scientists have rebuked the claims of Al Gore and company. But even if you were right - why won't the left embrace clean coal, or nuclear energy? Because the left is not sincere - the whole green movement is not about the environment or saving the planet it's about undermining capitalism. 

 * Stop catering to Isreal who is our friend and ally and start catering to Islamic extremists who are our enemies and want to wipe Isreal off the map and also want to destroy us ?!? Again your argument is living proof that liberalism is a mental disorder. Are you aware that for every concession Isreal has made for peace in the MIddle East they have been met with more violence? Literally thousands of rockets raining down on neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, shopping centers, not to mention the suicide bombings and terror? It is the Islamic nations of the world who are constantly opposing the peace process, they are they aggressors and people like you are fools who know nothing of facts of history, of the real world today, or anything about which you speak. 

Finally your last point explains where you're coming from, if you're not a pothead or medicated druggie yourself, you're obviously getting all your silly talking points from somebody who followed Timothy Leary. While an argument can be made from a libertarian point of view and some conservatives would probably agree about the merits of decriminalizing drugs - it's the recreational and habitual use of drugs and mis-use of prescription meds that keeps people from thinking clearly and independently, and deprives them not only of their personal freedom and robs them of their potential, it destroys their lives and it makes them dependent on others instead of themselves and makes those around them suffer miserably. People on drugs are not in control of their own destinies, they are more easily controlled, they are not really free. People on drugs are more apt to believe lies, lies that the drugs are somehow helping and not hurting them, but they also are more apt to believe lies about health care, global warming, and other nonsense.  

There is still hope for you however, because you still have some common sense about taxes. Eliminating all income taxes is a great idea. That is why many conservatives support the FairTax. Because you favor lower taxes particularly income taxes, you betray the inner capitalist inside of you. I assume you work hard for your money and you would like to keep more of it. You're rightly offended by the notion that the gov't should be able to take away from you what you have earned and that your money might be spent in ways that you'd rather not spend it. Surely you believe in the Constitutional rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but if you were at all logically consistent or principled, you would then have to take a more conservative stance then on health care, on abortion, on energy independence, on the rest of Obama's freedom restricting, taxing and spending like a madman on steroids agenda, and on foreign policy, you'd have to become more conservative like gasp, Limbaugh and Hannity, or God-forbid Michael Savage. 

 mark_j,

Very close to what I would have said. I agree 99%. 

I would suggest to gain more revenue is to find ways to create jobs that won't go overseas. That may be energy independence or something else. We cannot keep going on sending jobs overseas, sending our money to Iraq, and neglect the infrastructure. Sadly, republicans only give tax cuts and it seems to be laissez-faire thereafter and the lower 20% or 30% of the population never benefits.