Rush reflects on 2012 loss: 'Conservatism did not lose

Via Politico:

"The usual suspects are out, and they're saying, 'Rush, we gotta reach out now to the Hispanics and reach out to the minorities, blacks.' Okay, let me remind you of something. Let me take you back to the Republican convention," he said. "We had Suzanne Martinez, female Hispanic governor, New Mexico. We had Condoleezza Rice, African-American, former secretary of state. Both of those people eminently qualified, terrifically achieved. They have reached the pinnacles of their profession. We had Marco Rubio. We had a parade of minorities who have become successful Americans. And they all had a common story: up from nothing, hard work, their parents sacrificed for them."

"Now, why didn't that work, folks? The answer to that is our future," he continued. "Why didn't it work? Some people say, 'Well, Rush, we pandered.' No, we didn't pander. Everybody says that we need to reach out to minorities. We have plenty of highly achieved minorities in our party, and they are in prominent positions, and they all have a common story. They all came from nothing. Their parents came from nothing. They worked hard. They told those stories with great pride. Those stories evoked tears. It didn't work."

If it didn't work, Limbaugh argued, it was because Obama "successfully painted Romney's policies as caring primarily about the rich... successfully convinced roughly half the country that his policies will favor the middle class."

I somewhat agree with Rush here.  I think it would be a mistake to, say, adopt the libertarian "solutions" of embracing amnesty, legalized drugs and gay marriage.  On the contrary, I think Republicans need to stop apologizing for their views on social issues -- i.e. if you are pro-life, don't try and avoid the issue by claiming that a woman's body can "shut down" a pregnancy resulting from rape.  Instead of someone standing firmly on sound principles, you look like a moron with no principles (I'm lookin' at you, Mourdock).

Why should we apologize for being pro-life? Opposition to abortion is an issue where we aren't even in the minority, yet conservatives have yielded the high ground to liberals time and time again.

Why should we apologize for expecting immigrants to respect our nation's laws?  Forget this "self-deportation" nonsense which equates to fence-sitting on law enforcement.  Abide by the law or face the consequences.

Why should we apologize for our religious beliefs?  Forget party identification or ideology -- a faith in God and his Divine Providence is the most important idea that unites Americans of all different races, classes and political beliefs.

If conservatives and/or Republicans want to stop the bleeding following Tuesday's election, I recommend the Republican establishment stop apologizing for who we are.  Placating doesn't win over votes or hearts -- leading does.

P.S. -- If I hear another Republican float the idea of running Marco Rubio because he can attract Latino voters, I'm going to scream.  We don't believe in affirmative action because merit is more important than skin color -- so why on earth would we ever use it to elect our leaders?