Ignore Colin Powell, Republicans. Help is on the way.

Pretty soon, though, I believe conservatives will have to stop wallowing in delusion and self-pity. And there are excellent signs that this is already happening. The most promising Republican Senate candidates for 2010 are Mike Castle of Delaware, Mark Kirk of Illinois, Rob Simmons of Connecticut, and, assuming he actually has the guts, Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania. All of them are moderates with a proven record of winning the votes of suburban independents and even Democrats. This doesn’t represent any grand reinvention strategy, but it’s the way change starts happening. If these four candidates actually win their races, they will become a powerful bloc that can start moving the GOP closer to the American mainstream. They will start pushing pet issues—like a family-friendly tax code, more nuclear power, support for telecommuters, better infrastructure, effective immigration reform, high-quality affordable health care—that will resonate with the voters Republicans lost in 2006 and 2008. Slowly but surely, young voters, including many who now find themselves punch-drunk on Obama, will start having heretical daydreams about Bobby Jindal’s Kenneth-esque Louisiana drawl. That’s when the right will be back in business. And there are excellent signs that this is already happening. Eric Cantor, Jeb Bush, and Mitt Romney are leading a shrewd effort to reconnect the party with “reg’lar folks” through a series of town halls.