REMEMBERING PRINCIPLES
The GOP must return to conservative basics
BY GEORGE HARRIS

George Harris is publisher of Liberty Watch: The Magazine. He is also a political activist and successful Southern Nevadan businessman. Reach Harris at gopgeorge@earthlink.net  Other stories by George Harris

After this midterm election, one thing is for certain - we Republicans have been told we're doing something wrong. That is a problem that quickly needs to be solved or America will lose its moral ground and be held fiscally responsible for everyone else.

It is not uncommon during a president's second term to lose control of Congress, but if Republicans had stayed true to form, it would have been prevented. In a country that is mostly center-right, the last few years it seems the Republican Party has leaned too far to the right. 

That is not to say being a conservative is a bad thing, but perhaps there has been a slight ignoring of the rest of the country. A Reagan-like revolution of Republican leaders might serve us best. 

The Christian Right has served the party and President George W. Bush well, but it has also isolated those Republicans who, while may be religious, might not necessarily subscribe to the same religious involvement or beliefs. 

The foreign policy issue is a big one, what with a 3-year-old war that was allegedly won almost three years ago. The neo-isolationists would rather us sit and wait for a full invasion from a foreign enemy before drawing arms, while the neo-conservatives would go into any country at just the slightest threat. The best thing to be done to keep a balance with the voters is to keep our economic interests in mind. 

Should there be a threat of terrorism in one country that directly threatens America's economy, we should be able to offensively protect ourselves. For example, look at the economic hit we took following 9/11.

Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman paraphrased a line from the Woody Allen film Annie Hall when he said, "If a shark doesn't keep moving he dies. I think the same is true of political parties." Thirty years ago when the Republican conservative movement took off like a rocket, it had an obvious target: end communism, win the Cold War and get Americans back on their fiscal feet. And the movement succeeded. But with every defeated enemy, a new one comes along. 

It has been hard to get the country to rally behind a war on terrorism because we're not sure where that war should take place. Is it in Afghanistan? Iraq? Or is it at home? We must better define our objectives without abandoning everyone but the neo-cons and Christian right.

We have to take greater responsibility for scandals that plagued the party over the last few years and recently in Florida with Mark Foley. Covering things up isn't working. We must root out the problem and replace the troublemaker with a more responsible ally.

Scandal-riddled former House Majority Leader Tom Delay said following the elections, "We have to stand on our principles and we will be successful again." What are the Republican principles? Clearly, we've forgotten. Our principles remain lower taxes, less government spending, smaller government and strong national defense. 

We took a surplus and turned it into a deficit. The economy looks OK, but our national defense is what can be most arguable. Is it defense or offense we're on? Over the next two years, Republicans must find a way to adjust the message so it's a friendly read. The core Republican basic values must be remembered and championed in a diplomatic, bipartisan way before the 2008 election. LW