The list is not exhaustive, but the direction of the modern GOP has been most influenced by three threads:

• Anti-government and fiscal conservatism and libertarianism
• Evangelicalism and social conservatism
• Anti- and post- Soviet neoconservatism

At times, the three had operated as an effective and electorally palatable coalition, probably most effectively in the Reagan administration.

I think of the GOP in terms of the interactions between these groups, and they do a lot to provide a simplified narrative of the origins of the present-day GOP. The late Bush years were the final fracturing of this coalition — not that the movements are dead, but, at least this round, not electorally effective.

I bring this up as the introduction to the election post mortem I'll be writing over a few posts, with at least one dedicated to each of these groups.

Obama won the presidency by winning the Democratic nomination. I'm sure that much of the motivation behind Hillary's drawn-out primary campaign was that the GOP was bound to lose the presidency to any competent Democrat. More interesting is to examine why the GOP coalition lost its effectiveness and favor with the electorate: the alienation of libertarians with big government conservatism and fiscal irresponsibility, neoconservatism's failure its goal to make Iraq a catalyst for Middle East democracy, the waning role of social conservatism (and its negative effect on independents and moderates) , and more.

So, loyal readers, stay tuned as I opine in essay format on shuttle rides over the next week.