If Paul and Rubio's speeches are any indication of where the Republican Party is heading, it looks like the 2016 nominating season will be more substantive than 2012.
There are many orthodoxies -- religious, political, philosophical and more. Like all other tyrannies, they seek conformity. Orthodoxy is to the mind as tyranny is to the person.
The GOP can try to repackage their party by reaching out to all demographics. But, for many Americans, the GOP is just the same old party.
Deep-dyed conservatives have a right to ask the Roves of the world what the establishment GOPers have done to erase the debt, limit the reach of the federal government or enhance a libertarian view of the world. The answer, to the Rand Pauls of the world, is simple: nothing.
The Republican Party is out of touch not because it has taken unpopular positions. That is a normal part of politics. Rather, Republicans are uniquely out of touch because they continue to discuss things and promote ideas to which most of the country no longer even pays any attention.
Why not exchange the GOP (The Grand "Old" Party) from the 20th century and instead build one for the 21st? That is a question that only the Republican Party can answer: To cheat or not to cheat?
I do think Obama was responding to Reagan's vision, but not to tell Reagan that he was wrong, but to tell some of his Republican disciples of today who use Reagan's words and legacy that this version of America has become outdated.
Though W.C. Fields once joked, "They say gasoline and alcohol don't mix... actually, they do, they just don't taste good," the combination of gun powder and testosterone is no joking matter.
Faced with a choice between the path of reason and the road to ruin, Republicans cling to ruin rather than adapt. That is the difference between ideas and talking points. Ideas evolve with new information, while talking points are static.
The liberal -- sorry, "progressive" -- elites love to talk about the fictional death of the Republican Party. But the Republican Party's future is as bright as ever.
Behind each of these statistics is a human story. These stories and our individual veterans must not be ignored. The plight of our post-9/11 veterans is a ticking time bomb and a national tragedy.
A Romney loss in November by less than the Gary Johnson vote could force the GOPowers-that-be to consider a leader in 2016 who is credible with Constitutional voters who like their individual liberties.
What if the Republican Party had a real debate on Pentagon spending that addressed the underlying issue of what our military is for? Should we be poised to fight major wars of occupation and/or counterinsurgency like those in Iraq and Afghanistan?