While the Republican Party has not moved to the right, it needs to concentrate on fiscal responsibility and size of government to regain a measure of power before it can take on the social issues that are  important as well. 

Laura Ingraham has recently asked the question of whether or not the Republican Party needs to add some razzle-dazzle to their image.  It's a good question; after all, a large part of politics is marketing.  However, while the Republicans need better marketing, we should be very careful in how it is applied.  After all, remember what happened last autumn with the story of Sarah Palin's wardrobe.  The liberal wing of the press had a field day making something out of what should have been a non-story.  Meanwhile, there is very little attention paid to the public relations machine employed by the Obama administration to maintain the campaign image well past the election.  Michelle Obama’s wardrobe including the $400 athletic shoes gets little attention.  The moral is clear; it is ok to work on a positive public image if you are a democrat, but if you are not, then what would otherwise be normal behavior becomes fair game for public criticism, regardless of the justification.  There may be better ways to get the message across than traditional image building techniques.   

Meanwhile, the general opinion of other commentators that the Republican Party is a party of diverse opinions, and already is really a "big tent" should probably be the starting point for analyzing the current position.  In fact, this opinion is correct.  Republicans and conservatives have always had their differences on significant issues.  For example, the paleoconservative vs. neoconservative argument was a serious matter throughout the Bush administration, and President Bush was roundly criticized by many of those who voted for him.  Conservatives have never operated in lockstep, despite what the propagandists may say. 

Secondly, we have to realize that the political left has effectively seized control of the Democrat Party, which has, despite what many media pundits would like us to believe, been the party that has done most of the “moving” in the last ten years.  While George W. Bush moved the Republican Party, as well, he also moved it to the left.  No Child Left Behind, and the Medicare Part D are perfect examples of this.  The only aspects of political administration where he did not do so were in the arena of national security. 

Many other Republican office holders moved to the left along with him, accepting the idea that they could promote the Republican Party by emulating the Democrats.  While this movement took place many of the center and essentially all of the right elements of the electorate were left behind.  Radio talkers have been the voice of the public, post November 2008, but what those who call talk radio "extremist" are ignoring one very important piece of information; Barack Obama ran on a public image as a moderate, but his policies are showing him to be the true extremist.  His public image and his private and political persona are two completely different things. 
 
Meanwhile, the suggestion that Republicans should abandon Ronald Reagan are misguided.  The truth is that many Republican politicians have already done so during their move leftwards.  Because their public image is being shaped by people with an extremist agenda, this fact is being ignored.  What they need to recognize is that in abandoning the Reagan principles they have abandoned the public as well.  Recent polling data showing a negative reaction to big government and out of control spending supports this.  Republican politicians should take note of this and concentrate on a return to the successful policies of governmental restraint, controlled spending and popular liberty to become successful.  At t he same time they must name the enemy; they must go after “big government” as President Reagan did. 

The problem with the use of the term "socialist" is that a large part of the public does not understand it sufficiently.  While this shows an unconscionable lack of education in many people, conservatives must work within their limited knowledge and use something they understand.  The must identify Democrats as the party of big government, fiscal irresponsibility and reduction in popular liberties.  The issues of government size and spending will be the long-term winners. 
 
Meanwhile, the issues championed by "social conservatives" such as abortion and homosexual marriage should be given a back seat for a while.  They should not be ignored, but they can be dealt with later, after the winning issues of government size and out of control spending are put in front of the voters.  Consider that winning the abortion issue will matter little if the nation goes bankrupt.  Conservative voters will know how to wait until the right time to handle the social matters, after the fiscal ones; the ones that can destroy the nation are taken care of.