“I don’t think conservatism is dead,” said Bade, 50, who has been active in GOP politics since he was 10 years old. “I think people out here can’t find conservatives to vote for.”

Party leaders — most notably Bush — have abandoned the party’s platform and principles of fiscal conservatism and limited government, Bade said. The party’s prospects will improve when it starts offering voters a slate of small-government candidates who provide a clear contrast with free-spending Democrats.

“People say why should I vote for an imitation Democrat when I can vote for the real thing?” Bade said.

Gunther said the Republican Party has lost its brand, its trademark set of issues that average Americans can relate to. Less government regulation, spending and taxing should be at the heart of it.

“Kind of like (former House Speaker Newt) Gingrich’s Contract with America,” Gunther said. “If we can develop something like that, we can have some success.”

State Sen. Dick Day ran for Congress this year but saw his party opt for a more socially conservative Republican, who lost badly to Democratic Congressman Tim Walz. Day said the GOP needs to stand first for responsible governing — particularly in spending.

The budget deficits run up by the Republican-controlled federal government “drove me crazy,” Day said. And he thought his party’s focus on abortion, gay marriage bans and other social issues — at a time when Americans were losing their jobs and homes — didn’t sit well with voters.

“Hey, I don’t blame people,” he said of those who chose to punish the GOP in federal elections.

Rebuilding blocs

Day noted some of the same demographic trends that Pawlenty pointed to, and those worry him. A lot of different blocs of voters are favoring Democrats right now.

“They’re ain’t nothing left (for Republicans),” Day said. “We’re going downhill fast.”

He was at a meeting recently where a Republican was talking about the need to bring Hispanics and African Americans back to their party. It’s easy to say, Day said, and harder to come up with a strategy to accomplish it.

“How do you do that? How do you bring them in?” he said. “They don’t trust us.”

Carla Shutrop, the chairman of the College Republicans at Gustavus Adolphus College, thinks Republicans can appeal to Hispanics if they get beyond simply opposing illegal immigration. Along with that, the party should support real reform in how immigrant workers come to America — providing workers the economy needs and easing the demand for illegal workers.

As for getting young people to reconsider their overwhelming support for the Democratic Party the past two elections, Shutrop believes Republicans need to become more technologically savvy. And the GOP should focus on the long-range problems that will hammer young Americans if they aren’t fixed — issues like Social Security, Medicare, health care costs and the national debt.