by John Holodnak
J-Holodnak@onu.edu
Now that Barack Obama has won the presidential election, the Republican Party and its conservative base have to ask themselves how it can recover from what was a decisive defeat.  (I hate to identify with the Republican Party, but I have to vote for someone).  The consensus seems to be that Republicans must run to the center to have a chance at regaining power.  
For example, Morton Kondracke comments in a column that “Step One is to fire Rush Limbaugh and his ilk as the intellectual bosses of the GOP.”  He also states that “Republicans are merely saying ‘No’ to a new economic stimulus and rescues for auto companies and homeowners, rather than devising alternatives.”  Allow me to remind you of how we got to this point.  We picked John McCain as our presidential candidate.  As I predicted in a column last winter, selecting John McCain would ensure a Democratic victory, and it did.  If running to the center was such a good idea, Republicans should have won the election easily.
What Mr. Kondracke forgets is that real conservatives do not believe that government can or should solve many of our problems.  There isn’t a government solution to our economic problems, and pretending there is to pander to nervous Americans is a very short-sighted strategy.  Real conservatives, like Mr. Limbaugh, have principles in which they believe regardless of the situation.  We support free markets and small government, in good and bad economies.  
What the Republican Party needs to do is become conservative again.  Not just talk about being conservative, but actually implement policy that is conservative.  (Or maybe, rather, not implement policy).  What did six years of Republican leadership in Congress and eight in the presidency bring us?  Massive debt and massive spending.  We are halfway to being tax and spend liberals.  So, to recover, the Republican Party must work for change.  Stop laughing, because that’s not a joke.  We need change in this country; unfortunately, the “change” we will be getting is really just an extension and continuation of what has failed, namely, big government.  
Republicans can bring about real change by  becoming fiscally conservative, reducing the size of government, preventing illegal immigration, staying strong on defense, remaining socially conservative, advocating real tax reform (not just tax cuts), ending the assault on that thing called capitalism, and finding realistic long-term energy solutions.  The list of issues that I gave is obviously not complete and is only a list.  I don’t have the space to adequately develop any of them, but the basic goal is clear.  Create a secure country, run by a government only as large as is absolutely necessary.  
One thing Republicans must not do, however, is merely direct hatred at Barack Obama in the same way Democrats did to George Bush.  Republicans should be respectful of President Obama and support him in any actions that are consistent with their principles.  We shouldn’t disagree with him just because he is a Democrat or attempt to undermine him as a leader.  
That said, Republicans must hold true to their principles, which will probably mean opposing Mr. Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid on many issues.  We already know that the next administration will try and bring radical changes to the country.  As Mr. Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, recently said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” and, “This crisis provides the opportunity for us to do things that you could not do before.”  
So watch out America, things that could never be implemented during normal times can be accepted when people are afraid.  We should be very concerned about the economy right now, but we cannot afford to let concern allow the already intrusive government further into our lives.  Conservatives must stand for what they believe, now more than ever.