Across America the principles of freedom and liberty, lower taxes and limited government, personal responsibility and strong family values, better educational opportunities and safer communities define the Republican Party. The 2006 election was a tough one for the Republican Party. We lost control of Congress and saw our majority in the state legislature shrink. As we reassess where we are as a party and where we need to go, one thing remains clear: the Republican Party still represents the values and ideals, the hopes and the dreams, and the ideas and the ambitions of a majority of Americans.

The Republican Party platform remains the same. We are still solid and unwavering in our beliefs, and we stand tall for truth, justice, and equality for all Americans. In 2006, the American electorate rejected Republican candidates who seemed to forget why they were elected and supplanted their values and beliefs with political favors and unethical behavior. Voters were angry and upset with the actions of our elected officials, but not Republican Party philosophy. The election was more about failed governance policies than Republican values and beliefs.

There are some so-called political strategists who advocate a new direction for our party. Some have said that we should abandon our conservative family values and spiritual beliefs in an effort to appease the secular minority in America. There are those who contend the Party must compromise to find any successes in the future. Others, including the mainstream media, have said we are out of step with the American people and can no longer win elections.

We are told that voters now believe Democrats are more capable of managing the economy, balancing budgets and directing foreign policy. What they are forgetting is that many Democrats ran on Republican values in 2006. Living up to their self proclaimed new found conservative values is already proving to be difficult for many Democrats, including Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords.

I believe this will be a very short honeymoon for Ms. Pelosi and the Democrats with the American electorate. The frustration with Republicans will be short lived as the average American sees their tax bill rise dramatically over the next few years, increases in needless government spending, the continued expansion of government programs and the embarrassing shortcomings of their foreign policy blunders, which are becoming so imminently clear only four months into their reign.

Our party is made up of mothers and fathers, grandparents and veterans, police officers, and school teachers, lawyers and farmers, and doctors and singles moms. We are a party of all professions and all walks of life and we associate with causes greater than ourselves. Republicans are a party of conviction, Republicans are a party of principle, and Republicans are a party of ideals and the rule of law.

When we stray from our convictions, we get into trouble with voters. Democrats are not constrained by a similar value system nor are they held to the same high standards in the public eye. For them, everything is relative, flexible and tied to the moment; a short term view of the world. They believe the U.S. Constitution is a fluid, changing document that is susceptible to broad interpretation.

We believe there are issues, ideas, and beliefs that are worth fighting for and are universal and enduring. Our forefathers understood this principle and built our country on these same values. Values such as freedom from oppression and liberty for all bind us together and define us as a party. The platform of our party has weathered many storms and knee jerk reactions to a tough election year have never warranted throwing our convictions to the wind. As Republicans, we know who we are and we know where we are headed.

During his second inaugural address, Ronald Reagan, a great Republican and a conservative posed a question to the American people, “If not us, who? If not now, when?” It was Ronald Reagan that fulfilled the Goldwater conservative legacy that was so well stated in The Conscience of a Conservative. It was Ronald Reagan who brought the conservative movement to the White House. And it was Ronald Reagan who defined the Republican identity as we know it today.

Being a Republican is about knowing what’s right with America. It’s about looking beyond today and solving tomorrow’s problems. It’s about working hard and dreaming big. And it’s about standing up and being heard. That’s what makes a Republican and that’s why we will always stick to principle above all. I know we’ve hit some rocky times, but I also know that the best days for our party and our country are still to come.

***

Randy Pullen is chairman of the Arizona Republican Party