One of John McCain’s claims to “fame” in the last Presidential election is that he was a maverick–meaning that he wasn’t afraid to buck his party. Seeing as how the difference between his party (The Stupid Party) and the other party (The Evil Party) is approximately a bucket of warm spit at this point in history, that message failed to resonate amongst “little c” conservative voters, who saw through him in droves.
On the other hand, there are people like Jim DeMint from South Carolina. DeMint not only bucks his party, but much of the time espouses positions that conservatives, Constitutional Republicans and occasionally even “little l” libertarians can live with.
The GOP (Greatly Ossified Party) may not have gotten the message of the last 3 elections yet, but some folks have. Perhaps they always did and we’re just now hearing from them. Either way, if they keep it up, those of us who believe in a highly limited Federal government that restricts itself to those duties spelled out in the Constitution may once again find ourselves at home under the Big Tent.