I know too many people who were upper middle class, accustomed to voting Republican but saw the core of the Republican Party as being too ideological and liked the overtures that Obama made regarding “pragmatism” and “bringing in the best minds” ala Warren Buffet (whose advice was asked after the “stimulus” and was summarily ignored).

I warned them that Obama was no moderate but they wanted to vote for him and ignored the warning signs.

This whole Gates affair has many of them regretting their votes. But at the same time we have the Republican Party doubling down on:

creationism
nirtherism
justifying domestic terrorist (killing a guy who does something legal but that you want to make illegal is OK)

There is a vacuum that a Ronald Reagan or Barry Goldwater could fill - both always emphasized the needs of a free country to engage in free enterprise before emphasizing “culture wars”.

Reagan didn’t unite the country over social issues - he did it over jobs and growth.

That is where the Republicans aren’t.