Following Romney’s proverbial “hiding” (as the Brits would say) by Newt Gingrich, It’s curious to me that we’ve been getting a slew of columns about how unelectable Newt supposedly is.

But this is always the argument of the moderate wing of the party: conservatism is too extreme to win, they say.

But let’s look at years where we won big:

1980 – Reagan 50.7% to 40.9% – 44 states

1984 – Reagan 58.8% to 40.6% – 49 states.

1994 (House)  - GOP (Gingrich) – 51.5% to 44.7% – + 54 seats (first time in 40 years GOP took the House)

Let’s look at years where we nominated moderate candidates:

1976 – Carter 50.1% to 48.1%

1988 – Bush 53.4% to 45.7%

1992 – Clinton 43% to 37.5%

1996 – Clinton 49.2% to 40.7%

2000 – Gore 48.4% to 47.9%

2004 – Bush 50.7% to 48.3%

2008 – Obama 52.9% to 45.7%

President Geroge H.W. Bush was riding the coat tails of President Reagan. Presidnet George W. Bush ran as a conservative and won his first term on a technicality. He won his second term because he united conservatives around the war on terror.

So where do moderates get the idea that conservatives lose races?