I have been sick all week, literally, with the thought of our country being run by a man who believes that redistribution of wealth leads to economic prosperity, who thinks pulling troops out of a region brimming with terrorists will make us safer, and who encourages unethical behavior in our election process by supporting groups like ACORN. I was devastated when I saw the large public mandate that sent him to the White House. I watched audience members cry as President-Elect Obama gave his victory speech last night and wanted to scream at them "wake up, Americans, this is the wrong choice!" But then it dawned on me: my party didn't give them a choice.

Defenders of freedom and personal liberties, protectors of borders and American lives, proud patriots who put God before country and country before self - Republicans are the ones who are charged with picking a qualified candidate and giving the American electorate a choice. But we didn't do that this time around. Instead, we gave them much of the same big government and intrusive politics which lost us seats in 2006. The reason I know this? Because the Republicans had the lowest turn out since Nixon - that was 30 years ago. We did not give our own supporters a real choice in this election, and our consequence will be four years of socialism.

As we accept our punishment let's never forget who we are and what our mission must be: cleansing our party of those who do not follow our principles and winning back a majority through real reform and change. The Republican Party is a broad based party with many different points of view, but while we can appreciate our internal differences we cannot forsake the basic ideals on which this party was founded. The Republican Party that I am a proud member of believes in freedom of the electorate, limiting government that keeps us safe but stays out of our lives, personal responsibility of citizens, and strong family values. Let us focus on finding candidates to run who stick to those principles, and replace those who do not.

Republicans were sent a message yesterday, and that was "stick to your values!" We lost our way when we had the majority (we didn't keep a lid on spending, we didn't even defund NPR!) However, today marks an opportunity, a chance to get our bearings, reassess our goals, and focus on the future. Now, more than ever, we need to remain steadfast in our devotion to what this country stands for, and be prepared to recapture government when the majority gets buyers remorse.