Donald Trump and Ben Carson cannot win a national election in the United States of America. This isn’t my opinion, this isn’t conjecture, and this certainly isn’t a partisan attack. I am a proud conservative, and I am as fed up with Washington “politics as usual” as anyone. But the fact of the matter is, these two men are not the Republican nominees that should be chosen if we want to reclaim 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Trump and Carson are, undoubtedly, conservatives. Of course, there are legitimate questions regarding Trump’s political consistency -- the thousands of dollars donated to Democratic campaign committees being just the tip of the iceberg -- but that isn’t the subject of this article. The fact of the matter is, these two men are leading in most Republican primary polls. While it is still very early in the primary season, the fact that no other Republican candidate is within striking distance means that Trump and Carson each have compelling cases to argue that they will be the nominee. As someone who wants to see a Republican in the White House, that concerns me.

That concerns me because Trump and Carson have absolutely no appeal outside of conservative circles. Both have an uncanny knack for making extremely inflammatory statements -- such as Trump insisting that prisoners of war aren’t American heroes, or Carson drawing an analogy between homosexuality and pedophilia. These kind of remarks, regardless of their particular context, are easy fodder for a Democratic attack machine honed by years of political spin.

In addition, both men have a disturbingly shallow knowledge of policy; a shallowness they appear almost to revel in. Their public comments and debate performance reveal alarming gaps and inconsistencies in their positions. While a sympathetic Republican crowd may give them the benefit of the doubt, what’s going to happen if one of them goes toe-to-toe with Hillary Clinton in front of thousands of swing voters? Say what you will about Clinton, her decades of time spent in government have at least left her the ability to speak in-depth on a broad spectrum of issues. The typical moderate voter might not be able to hold forth for hours about Israeli-Palestinian relations, but they will want a president who knows their stuff. Trump and Carson have glaring shortcomings that will cripple them in a general election.

So, how have Trump and Carson been able to gain such a widespread following? How can someone as unqualified as they are be leading in the polls? The truth is, Trump and Carson have tapped into a deep vein of frustration and anger within the Republican Party. Frustration with the gridlock and posturing of the political class and anger that no one seems to be doing anything about it. These people are average Americans too busy trying to keep food on the table and raise their families to pay much attention to politics. They mostly just want D.C. to stay out of the way and for politicians to get back to work running the country instead of chasing the next soundbite. Trump and Carson are speaking straight to these people in a manner few other Republican candidates can -- blunt straight-talk that cuts through the media noise, not worried about hedging statements or possibly offending anyone. Politics and policies aside, that’s the kind of candidate the average American can get behind.

But here’s the thing: tough talk can only get you so far in a national election. If you want to be president, you must be able to convince the majority of Americans to vote for you. Sometimes, that means compromise; it at the least means that you have to be able to explain your positions in a way that doesn’t immediately turn off half the people in the room. There are solid conservatives who are capable of that -- look at what Reagan was able to accomplish. If Republicans want to reclaim the White House in 2016, we must find a candidate that can do the same.