Dear Republican Party

I am a long-time resident of our country, and I am writing to express my concern about recent discussion and the pending decision to remove your party from having any potential in future elections. I understand that the decision is being considered to enable the Democrats to "change", through complete control, the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. Soon "hope" will be "changed" to bigger government, more unnecessary spending, and poorer community values.

However, I do not believe that the benefits of allowing the Democrats a noncompetitive re-election compare favorably to the benefits of reforming the Republican party and rebuilding its reputation. Consider: civic republicanism, sometimes called communitarianism, is a tradition of political thought that emphasizes virtue and the public good in addition to individual freedom. This is not the same as allowing the religious right to govern the party. Civic republicans believe that communities need to teach and encourage the common good, not just promote individual freedom. In contrast, classical liberalism emphasizes individual rights and liberties over all else. Advice: focus on the common good by encouraging private and non-profit organizations to fulfill their duties and alleviate the governments need for social programs, in comparison to the current attitude of ignorance and indifference to the poor and disadvantaged. Note: just because you don't want the government to pay for these community challenges, does not mean that pretending they are not real fixes the problem. This is one example of many problems. The platform says one thing simply and the policies mean and do completely different things until no one knows what Republicans stand for.

It would also seem that allowing extreme and unqualified individuals from misrepresented factions within the party would be a great tool to unite the Republican party. However, consider that Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, and Bobby Jindal are not legitimate representatives of Republicanism, and thus bad leaders for the party. Charming, moderate and experienced Republicans on the other hand, will represent Republicans and unite the fractured party. Note: John McCain lost not because he was Republican, but because he was never sure what a Republican was. Changing his message from moderate to conservative to extremist and back again is confusing for anyone.

In conclusion, Republicans need to simplify their message and return it back to the core principles upon which it has always succeeded. Low taxes with balanced budgets, strong national defense, engaged foreign policy, protection of the environment and less government interference in individual lives. Remember, Republican ideology makes sense and it is only the recent policies that do not.

I am looking forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Party Hopeful