I guess I was mistaken...

I thought we were far more in agreement than we actually are, I guess.

I take nothing away from your points... they are valid, 100%.  I simply do not agree with the premise they are based on:  that any party or politician would or could have done what was needed to complete the job to my satisfaction.

You assumed I was a fan of even the Tea Party Darlings like Cruz and Paul... but I am most certainly not.  Thus, any discussion we have on the points you made from here on would be utterly moot.  So, let me make my position perfectly clear before we proceed any further.

Pick your example of the most "conservative" candidate that you could run in a presidential election... F Ryan's "dream candidate"... someone that could fit the bill for everything he wants in a President, but could still be elected (so, Ron Paul, whom I have never seen as a viable candidate... ever... would be off the table), and ask yourself if he/she could (or would, even) accomplish any ONE of the following things I feel need to be done:

1)  Eliminate the Department of Homeland Security.  Everything that HS is was already in place prior to its creation... CIA, NSA, FBI, ATF, INS, Border Patrol, DEA, Secret Service, Marshal Service, DIA, Treasury, Coast Guard... it was all there, fully functional and only lacking a means to coordinate and communicate effectively between the various organs.  All HS did was increase the cost of each by a factor of 27% and increase the overall size of government by 17%.  I have seen no evidence to date that the nation is any safer because of the new moniker... and 14 years of no measurable and specific benefits means we don't need it.

2) Repeal every facet of the Patriot Act.  Enough said.

3)  Reinforce the FACT that unwarranted (literally) surveillance of American citizens is illegal under the Fourth Amendment.  Stop all current "listening" and put in place the means by which any future peeking can be prosecuted WITHOUT oversight or control by the Executive Branch... regardless of who is President.

4)  Work from DAY ONE to put into place the framework of a balanced budget requirement that would be 100% carved-in-stone before 2029.

5) Eliminate the Department of Education.  Please.

I could run this list on for pages and pages... but my point is made, surely.  No one we can elect to the White House NOW is going to fix ANYTHING.  I simply do not believe it at all.  Anything short of attempting to fix what is wrong is nothing more than contributing to the problem.

If you want to know what sort of political action I am supporting, I can tell you this as a prime example:

Several States have enacted legislation that says that any NEW gun control law that is passed in DC will be ignored at these State's levels.  Example:  Utah passed a law that says that any gun manufactured in Utah and sold in Utah does not constitute "interstate commerce" and thus is outside of Congress' authority as defined by the Constitution.  Now, Remington and Colt are looking to move production facilities into Utah where they will jointly manufacture, assemble and sell specialty weapons to civilian buyers who reside in Utah.

(Due to an internet connection failure, the rest of this post was lost.  I'll pick up the threads later and continue... my apologies.)