Surprise: Conservatives aren't optimistic about GOP's future

After losing the 2012 election and caving on the fiscal cliff, the Republican establishment hasn't done much to give its conservative base hope for its future. The outlook is bleak for 2013 and many are left wondering if the GOP really has a future at all.

To close out 2012, Thomas Sowell made this dire prediction for the future of the party... and the country:

One of the recent sad reminders of the Republicans' tendency to leave even lies and smears unanswered was a television replay of an old interview with the late Judge Robert Bork, whose nomination to the Supreme Court was destroyed by character assassination.

Bork said that he was advised not to answer Ted Kennedy's wild accusations because those false accusations would discredit themselves. That supposedly sophisticated advice cost the country one of the great legal minds of our time — and left us with a wavering Anthony Kennedy in his place on the Supreme Court.

Some people may take solace from the fact that there are some articulate Republicans such as Marco Rubio who may come forward in 2016. But with Iran going nuclear and North Korea developing missiles that can hit California, it may be too late by then.

Other outspoken conservatives have responded to the fiscal cliff negotiations with similar sentiments:

SOBER New Year: First it was Chief Justice doing the dirty. Now Republicans raising taxes on ON 77% OF HOUSEHOLDS!Surrender guns next...

— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) January 2, 2013

Paul Ryan says the 41-to-1 tax hikes to spending cuts crapwich "reflects conservative values." Stop it.

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin)

January 2, 2013

Can Paul Ryan still eat at the Young Guns' table?

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) January 2, 2013

Today the only people who dislike Congress more than real conservatives are the programmers for accounting software.#fb

— Chris Younce (@younce) January 2, 2013

Sadly, the Senate began 2013 by passing $620 billion in new taxes & just $15 billion in spending "cuts"... facebook.com/tedcruzpage/po…

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 2, 2013

So what happens when Obama wants more tax hikes on "the rich"? GOP suddenly decides it doesn't like class warfare again after caving?

— Jedediah Bila (@JedediahBila) January 2, 2013