The Republican route to Resuscitation

Thinking about it tonight, I don't think the Republicans break out of their current box until they see more moderates voting in their primaries.

I don't know if that comes from better moderate candidates or some kind of backlash against Democrats, but I don't think they come back to power without nominating more moderate Republicans for general elections.

The Democrats came back through a combination of the two. 1) They put up a bunch of more conservative Dems in more conservative areas as part of the 50 state strategy, and 2) Bush's unpopularity drove many more moderates to the Democratic camp.

So, How are the Republicans doing? Michael Steele is not going to elevate more moderates, and Boehner and McConnell just seem to be following. (Do they hang onto their leadership after 2010? If not, which way does that go?)

Arguably, Cornyn is trying to recruit and back slightly more centrist Senate candidates in more purple areas, but, so, far, nobody besides Charlie Crist looks likely to greatly increase moderate turnout in the primaries.

(This may be a "water is wet" post of obviousness.)