Resurrecting the GOP

No one can deny it; the Republicans took a drubbing on election day. Why? Some would have you believe it was a failure to 'move to the center', become more 'moderate', more 'Democrat Lite'. What nonsense. Republicans lost precisely because they DID move to the vast, squishy, nebulous middle; they became philosophically vacant. Dick Armey rightly noted in "Armey's Axioms" that "When we act like them, we lose. When we act like us, we win."

Congressman Thaddeus McCotter demands a return to First Principles, and he calls them the “enduring principles” of the Republican Party:

1. Our liberty is from God not the government.

2. Our sovereignty rests in our souls not the soil.

3. Our security is through strength not surrender.

4. Our prosperity is from the private sector not the public sector.

5. Our truths are self-evident not relative.

So simple, yet so powerful. Why have Republicans, especially those in leadership roles, forgotten this?

Ronald Reagan understood this. He spoke of freedom, honor and peace with such eloquence it is as relevant today as it was in 1964. Only the names have been changed - and that may not be true much longer. The bear is rising again, looking with malice at its old turf. When it comes to Vladimir Putin, you can take the man out of the KGB, but you can't take the KGB out of the man.

The Wall Street Journal noted the results of recent polls showing a majority of Americans agreeing with principles of Ronald Reagan:

A Rasmussen survey conducted Oct. 2 found that 59% agreed with the sentiment expressed by Reagan in his first inaugural address: "Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." Just 28% disagreed with this sentiment. That survey also found that 44% of Obama voters agreed with Reagan's assessment (40% did not). And McCain voters overwhelmingly supported the Gipper.

If Republicans hope for more than permanent minority status, they would do well to heed this advice. Let the east coast, blue-blood, country club set whine and moan. They may find themselves less accepted on the A-list party circuit, poor dears, but the health, even the survival, of our country requires occasional sacrifice from each of us.