Introduction: What happened to conservatism? : why reforming the country requires transforming the Right -- The ambiguous hero : Ronald Reagan as conservatism's model and problem -- In the shadow of Goldwater : it didn't start with the Tea Party -- From radicalism to governing : how Nixon failed conservatives, Reagan thrilled them--and then left them hanging -- The end of the Reagan majority : George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and the politics of deadlock -- The Gingrich revolution and conservatism's second chance : M2E2 and the Right's Achilles' heel -- Put on a compassionate face : the promise and limits of compassionate conservatism -- Double-edged "strategery" : George W. Bush, Karl Rove, and the search for a fourth way -- "I can hear you" : how W. united the country, then divided it more than ever -- The new, new, old Right : the Tea Party explosion that was waiting to happen -- Dreams of celestial choirs : Barack Obama hopes, but the GOP doesn't change -- The logic of obstruction : why conservative opposition to Obama was inevitable -- The Tea Party overreaches and Republicans wage class war : the making and unmaking of Mitt Romney -- Saying yes and no to Obama : the two electorates and the cycles of dysfunction -- The fever that wouldn't break : when winning two elections isn't enough -- Reforming conservatism or trumping it : a new conservatism, a new pizza box, or something completely different? -- Up from Goldwaterism : the conservative challenge and America's future.