Lets put aside parties and talk conservatives vs liberals. What it sounds like is that we shouldn't bother using past history to judge future actions, even though the conservative political leadership is the same, AND we shouldn't expect a plan from them because they haven't offered anything collectively that they would enact if conservatives become the majority movement in government again.
No offense, but that sounds like a disaster.
I believe there's a sizable chunk of the broad conservative movement that cares very little about fiscal conservancy. That's why someone like Flake doesn't get more traction. For a conservative whose primary interest is foreign policy or social policy, Flake's focus on fiscal conservancy is a nuisance.
Was Flake in Congress when there were in the majority? Because if he was why didn't he really people behind his ideas when they had the power to make changes? Are we to reward slogans instead of action? As someone who's worked in the real world, you have to know that just coming up with an idea vs actually implementing it are two far, far different things. Flake and anyone else of his inkling, and his supporters, should have been building a movement for years. What has he done to at least get his like minded officeholders on board so that we can expect deficit reduction is the party he currently resides in becomes the majority? Do you seriously think conservatives, upon election, will actually pass legislation (even if Obama vetos it) to bring down the deficit? Or do you think we'd see more tax cuts paid for by borrowing?
I don't doubt your personal sincerity on this issue. However, overall conservatives as fiscal stewards is a laughingstock. Tell me what the plan is, overall, once conservatives are in power. Because if you say Flake = what a new right majority will do, that leaves you open for Angle = new conservative majority or Paul = new conservative majority. Its not about what one person thinks. Its about who can build a coalition to enact change. IMHO, I've seen no evidence, nor any concrete plans by conservatives, most likely working through the Republican party, that have any desire to pursue the priorities you find important. In fact, the only fiscal issue they have all rallied around is extending the Bush tax cuts, a deficit increasing action.
