My crystal ball isn't any clearer than yours. So, I don't know if the morning of November 5th, 2008, will turn out to be as bleak, for Republicans, as it seems it might, based on today's indicators. Regardless, I believe it's well past time for Republicans to do what the popular business management book Good To Great calls "Confronting the brutal facts." The brutal facts are: Our compatriots are continuing to choose "Change" because our leadership hasn't done the job they were counting on us to do.

If we're willing to face these facts, we must next ask, "What should we be doing, differently and better, to be able to serve our nation with the sort of leadership we see as being in its best interest?" A logical first-step to answering this question is to look to a time when the majority of our fellow Americans did see Republican control as being appealing and effective. The most obvious example of this was the Reagan-era. You'll, presently, find a number of articles featuring a call for "A return to the glory days of Reagan". Many of them, especially those appearing here, on Red County, are very worthwhile reading. But I think it's necessary for us to respond to this question beyond the broad generality of striving to regain the magnificence of the time of The Great Communicator. There are specific steps we should be taking and I think the most critical ones are these:

Step #1, proactively look to support those who are elected to office on this November 4th in every area where we're in agreement. It isn't in our nation's best interest for these fellow Americans to fail so its our duty to do all we can to assure their success. Beyond duty, if we aren't willing to accept this obligation, how can we expect anything different when the shoe is on the other foot? So, let's set an example, while stepping up to the plate and doing what we ought to do anyway.

Step #2 is along similar lines to Step #1. It seems that we've allowed ourselves to fall into the habit of, primarily, presenting our views in a point-counterpoint forum. I think continuing this is a HUGE MISTAKE. One pragmatic political consideration here is that the other guys often seem to be better at this than we are. Moreover, we should be offering our opinions in a way that makes it easy for others to see their benefits. Point-counterpoint tends to only emphasize what we're against. And, it positions us to almost never acknowledge anything good in our opponents ideas. I think that's wrong and I'm sure its unhealthy. For more on this, I refer you to my posting on America's 21st Century War, as well as the Thomas/Beckel book Common Ground.

Perhaps the most important step is for us to find our backbones again. We need to stand up and unashamedly say what we stand for and stop trying to be all things to all people. In The Book of Revelation, God tells the church of Laodicea, "... because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." It seems to me that, to some degree, that's what our fellow citizens are doing with today's Republican Party versus the party that was led by Ronald Reagan. And even if I'm wrong, I'd rather see us be rejected for what we are than for some vague facsimile.

Of course, in order to accurately represent ourselves, we have to have a clear understanding of who we are ourselves. That's where the "Palin for President '12" part of my theme comes into play. Of course, our current VP candidate, Sarah Palin, isn't perfect. The unprecedented vicious attack she has (I think, admirably) withstood from the media has greatly emphasized that. To that, I say, if "seemingly perfect" is what you're looking for, I recommend that you do further reading in The Book of Revelation. That aside, as I look at Governor Palin's political positions, I can't find one that isn't closely aligned with mine. I think she exemplifies the definition of who we are, that we should be putting forward. Especially considering this, I've been pretty disappointed with how the McCain campaign has "handled" her and I've been just as disappointed with us, as a party, as we have failed to unflinchingly stand with her, once the first blush of excitement over her nomination passed. But, that's now past. In writing this, my hope is to help us find our way back to playing a significant role in securing a brighter future for our country. So, in order to do that, regardless of the outcome of next Tuesday's election, I recommend that we immediately start taking the steps I've outlined above, while tirelessly working towards retaking the majority in both houses of Congress in 2010 and putting Sarah Palin in the White House in 2012.