Conservatives in play?

This dead elephant logo is one that Michelle Malkin uses to highlight blog posts about the GOP's abandonment of conservative principles, such as Tuesday's post in which a reader replies to Republican National Committee fundraisers:

I have not left the Republican Party. The party has left me. . . . Why should I contribute to you, when I can have the same type of leadership [from Democrats]?

How widespread is such sentiment? Friday's post from John Hawkins at Right-Wing News:

I cannot back John McCain, encourage others to vote for him, or contribute any
more money to his campaign . . .

Tuesday, I was interviewed by New York's WBAI radio -- a "progressive" station -- and the host asked me whether Bob Barr could take advantage of conservative disaffection with the GOP. I told the interviewer I don't have a crystal ball, but I mentioned Hawkins' post as evidence of the depth and breadth of conservative rage at current GOP leadership.

Barr had to "walk the plank" on Libertarian issues like medical marijuana and gay rights in order to secure the LP nomination. That's going to limit his appeal to conservatives, even to many of the anti-war conservatives who have backed Ron Paul. Still, conservatives' intense dislike of John McCain and their growing contempt for the GOP Establishment in Washington creates the real possibility that more of them may jump ship as Hawkins has done.

November is still more than five months away, and anything can happen. A poll last week indicated Barr could put Georgia in play. Considering that Georgia went 58% for Bush in 2004, that's significant. There's also the matter of all those "Hillbillies for Hillary" Democrats who won't vote for Barack Obama (more about that here). With disaffected voters in both major parties, we are clearly looking at a volatile political environment.