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The Republican future by Michael Steele
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070910/EDITORIAL/109100004/1013/EDITORIAL
I was asked recently what lesson should the Republican Party have learned from the results of the 2006 midterm elections. That's easy: You can't please everyone, but you sure can make them all mad at you at the same time. Voters are not in the mood for petty political bickering or platitudes about "hope." In fact, they are more skeptical of so-called "political solutions" and even more negative about the direction the country is taking than they were in November. Perhaps more disturbing is the fact that more American voters now think their children will be worse off than they are.
These factors, among others, are setting the stage for this November's crucial state and local elections.
In my travels for state and local candidates, I am seeing a new generation of Republican leaders emerge who are serious about fiscal stewardship and who respect the opinions of those with whom they may not always agree. I am meeting Republicans who reflect more and more the communities they come from and who are speaking with clarity on the issues that matter in the everyday lives of individuals and families.As this campaign season unfolds and the voters weigh what's at stake for them, they will want to know which Republican Party will rise to lead: the party they rejected in November 2006 or the party of Lincoln.
And what's at stake for the Republicans? Well, Lincoln said it best when he noted: "I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong." Let us be true to ourselves and stand right with the voters once again.
Michael Steele, former lieutenant governor of Maryland, is chairman of GOPAC.
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