Sad really ...

Your pleasure in brow beating Reagan.Im sure one can find faults & inconsistencies with Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln (in fact I know we can). But like them, Reagan's impeccable record and the legacy it spawned has reached the heights of being unassailable. No matter your pin pricks, nudges, loose ends or dispersions about the man, America has decided, Reagan was one of the greats. They love him ... and yelling till you'r e hoarse that he didn't really cut down that cherry tree is a waste of energy. And given his accomplishments are deserving of the afore mentioned admiration, its also a waste of your talent.

Now ... I realize your point was that you think conservative intelligencia in the media are putting together a litmus test that either a.) is unrealistic in its' purity, b.) that Reagan couldnt even pass and c.) if anyone did pass it they would be by definition unelectable (you sure as sh** took the long route in saying it though, jeeez).

But I think you're wrong. The type of conservative garnering everyone from Levine's to my to blue blood Republican support needn't check every box on our wish list. Rather, candidate X needs to articulate his or her heart felt ideology, and apply it to the questions of the day - Obamacare, taxes, defense, job creation. They need to eliminate the Dept of Ed, etc to make my political dreams come true. But they needn't eliminate it to get my vote. We can fix the busted, leaky faucet later, let's put the house fire out first. Again, name a candidate & I'll tell you if I can support them. I cant possibly work it from the other side

... except to say this: you seem to think conservative/Tea Party demands, their litmus test, is so unrealistic it will leave them with no one to support, because no one could live up to it. My answer is this- they sure as hell found plenty of people to support for the midterms. Tea Party backed candidates won the nation over, and nobody promised to eliminate the Ed Dept. The Tea Party, conservative talk show hosts, rank and file conservatives like myself couldnt throw a stone & not hit someone vying to prove they passed our "litmus test." And dozens upon dozens were elected. No my friend, the Tea Party/conservative movement is where the votes are, where the momentum is. Far from it being tough to impossible to find a candidate we can support, our biggest problem will be sifting through the applications of all the candidates whom have suddenly found their conservative soul.