Good article, Ed. 

Politics is strange.  We saw the frustration at the debate between the candidates and the media that was so well described in your article.  I liked where Rubio said that the most powerful SuperPac supporting Hillary was the media.

The other thing I'm watching is the split between the conservatives/libertarian-leaning side of the GOP and the establishment side of the GOP.  It is becoming more fractious.  (Not so much on the debate stage where everyone is trying to be an "outsider" because they can clearly see that far more than half of the GOP primary voters are supporting candidates with absolutely no political experience.)  Back in Washington the Tea-Party congressmen have driven the Speaker of the House to resign and have gone along with accepting Paul Ryan as the new speaker - hoping he can bridge the chasm between them and the GOP establishment. 

In the meantime the establishment Republicans released a 144 page bill on Monday which Congress passed late Friday evening.  It raises the debt ceiling and increases spending - the bill, and somehow, the wording (from what I've heard - I haven't seen the language) is in some fashion unlimited - that is, it somehow will let the debt ceiling float till about the end of the 1st quarter of 2017.  I can't even imagine how that can be.  How can you raise the debt ceiling, but not have a ceiling?  We already know that the debt ceiling is something of a farce and doesn't limit spending or borrowing.  It just seems to be a way to make trouble for the Democrats, have some leverage that ends up letting the increased borrowed (past tense) money be repaid. 

The Democrats and Obama seem to be estatic over this new bill.  Rand Paul was going to filibuster it in Senate, but I guess he only got 20 minutes before the number of GOP senators combined with all the Democrats and were able to shut him down and pass the bill in the Senate.  With the debt ceiling suspended, one can only imagine what this administration will spend.

I agree, Ed. 

My thought is that if the GOP captures the White House they'd be well advised to harness two strong and powerful emotions in today's society: The hatred of politics as usual, and the strong yearning for change (that things aren't going the right way). 

They could use those as the psychological fuel for a drive to make radical changes - to explicitly call for a New America - a real revolution.  They should go after some of the truly corrupt politicans with indictments and convictions (not on a partisan basis), cut whole departments, go for something like a flat tax, or The Fair Tax.  They should be particularly intolerant of the establishment on both sides of the aisle.  And like you said, they need to do things like using Paul Ryan to be out in public, on the talk shows, explicitly talking about how embracing free enterprise is the fastest way to put money in our pockets.

We need people who talk to the milllenials and say things like, "None of you have ever had a chance to experience the excitement and joy of living in a really vibrant economy.  It is so unlike what you have experienced during your lifetime.  It is unifying and in someway it brings people together.  It somehow infuses the culture with a sense of purpose, of excitement, of optimism, and a lot of goodwill.  If we embrace this radical revolution to a free America - free of big brother, free of overregulation and taxation - you will find out what I'm talking about.  And it is a kind of world that is good for all of us - young and old, but it is really exciting when you are still young."