I disagree. I think when conservative philosophy is clearly articulated by someone who understands it, the nation resonates. True Conservatism IS the moderate view. It rejects radical extremism. The problem is, some Republicans have no clue as to what Conservative philosophy is or how to articulate it.
"Rebranding" is a specious word. It implies that someone is going to repackage the same product under a different label or brand. I assure you, this is not the case with the Republican party. Don't get me wrong, there are Republicans who would love nothing more than to "rebrand" and trot out Romney 2.0 We'll give you everything the liberals promise and cut your taxes too!
Trump and Carson clearly aren't carrying the Establishment GOP water. What you are seeing is history being made. These candidates are the direct result of a grass roots movement across this country. They do not care about your labels. This is not "rebranding" but a complete redefinition.
You make some interesting points but let me throw this one at you, the problem I see is that conservatism has become a blanket label that is far too broad, for example I'm not a conservative, I'm a libertarian, there are distinct differences in philosophy (primarily stemming from the fact that conservatives do not hold the NAP as their central tenet) but the general public, the media and a lot of talking heads in Washington don't understand the differences. It's the same way with the liberal moniker, it's so often conflated with "progressive" that it has become basically meaningless, progressivism at it's birth was distinctly different from liberalism but since they have been allowed to become interchangeable actual liberals are now lumped in with authoritarian progressives even though in the original meanings they are polar opposites.
I'd like to see a modern conservative that can really articulate what makes conservative philosophy unique but as it stands now it's hard to pin point anyone.
You make some interesting points but let me throw this one at you, the problem I see is that conservatism has become a blanket label that is far too broad, for example I'm not a conservative, I'm a libertarian, there are distinct differences in philosophy (primarily stemming from the fact that conservatives do not hold the NAP as their central tenet) but the general public, the media and a lot of talking heads in Washington don't understand the differences.
Sorry it took so long to get back to this.
Conservatism is not an ideology. It has been morphed into a false ideology by the progressive left. Conservative voices have not been strongly unified enough behind a speaker who understands conservative philosophy to do anything about the false perception instilled by the left. Conservatism in it's purest form is a philosophy. It encompasses many ideological principles. This is how you can have social conservatives and libertarian conservatives, both supporting completely different agendas.
Some people are tricked into thinking we have Conservatives, Moderates and Liberals. This is false. Liberals are radical extremists, Conservatives are the moderate alternative to that. Thus, a so-called "moderate" is a 'centrist' who is between extreme and conservative.