Peter Ferarra has it right:
The election data shows that Kilgore ran behind other Republicans in the Congressional districts represented by Republicans, indicating that conservatives disgusted over the tax issue just stayed home. The numbers indicate as well that unless Tom Davis gets religion over taxes and stops publicly attacking conservatives, there are going to be fewer Congressional districts represented by Republicans after the next election. Davis may need religion in a few other areas as well.
But conservatives gleeful over the defeat of Kilgore need to cork the champagne and take stock of the massive wreckage the 2005 elections have wrought for us. We hear a lot of simplistic talk about how Republicans just need to run consistently on conservative principle and they will win running away every time.
So what do we do about it? What’s the solution?
Wake up conservatives! We have a more fundamental problem than Kilgore’s ads and stump speech. The problem is we are just not getting our message through to the public. The people do not hear us. We are not on radio and TV, or in the newspapers, in regard to Virginia issues. We do not sponsor forums to spread our message. We speak almost nowhere. We publish almost nothing.
An excellent read. Highly recommended.