Can GOP's Local Success Translate to Federal Level?

Can GOP's Local Success Translate to Federal Level?

The Republicans are doomed. Conservatism is over. President Obama is conducting a mop-up operation at this point.

That's the basic consensus in places like New York City, Washington, D.C., and other citadels of blue America.

And let's be fair, liberals have every reason to gloat -- a little. The GOP has its troubles. Long-term demographic trends; often-irrational animosity from Hollywood, the media and academia; a thumbless grasp of the culture on the part of many Republicans: All of these things create a headwind for the party and the broader conservative movement.

But here's the weird part. That's all true of presidential...