This won't embarrass deficit hawks, because they're not interested in the deficit. I think this piece was pretty informative on the ultra conservative worldview. The author points out that the creationist ethos is really one that's against what they see as the perverse morals of the 20th-21st centuries, and evolution and science have become proxies for their misplaced anger. I think that's the Tea Party viewpoint, too. Their world is crumbling with a black president, mandated healthcare, gay marriage at its highest support level ever, and now even women in combat service. "Spending" is code word for "freedom to do whatever one pleases at my expense, courtesy of the government." There is no way to convince them with evidence, because false or incomplete evidence isn't what led them to their position in the first place. Hopefully (and I never in a million years dreamed I would even think this, let alone say it), the party of Nixon will return one day, so that we can have a debate again.
I absolutely share your hope and I think many "conservatives" do too. "The party left me", is a common utterance. The dramatic shift to "social" and "moral" issues by the GOP has been a huge boon for the Libertarian party. Many former GOP'ers that wouldn't have ever considered joining their ranks, have. There have been some posts on hubski asking "what will the future think of us" or "what will the future be shocked about regarding us" and I hope that one of the the things they're shocked by is the fact that we had a 2 party system. I really hope this changes.
Nixon was a paranoid freak, obviously, and his Latin American policy leave a lot to be desired, but he also ended the war in Viet Nam, got the country off the gold standard, opened relations with China, presided over forced integrations of schools in the South, and several other policies that we would consider progressive. The modern conservative would wholeheartedly disavow all of these things.