If principled, effective, and popular leaders Sarah Palin and Bobby Jindal represent the hope of the G.O.P. (and yes, Mrs. Calabash, they certainly do) then let's hope that the party's leaders in Washington will begin to listen to their advice...as well as emulate their actions.On yesterday's Face the Nation, Governor Jindal of Louisiana described three steps his party must make if it ever hopes to again weild legitimate influence. "As Republicans, we need to do three things to get back on track. Number one, we have got to stop defending the kind of spending and out-of-control spending that we would never tolerate in the other side. You know, when voters tell us that they trust Democrats more to cut their taxes [and] control spending, that tells you something is wrong with the Republican Party. We've got to match our actions with our rhetoric.
"Number two, we've got to stop defending the kinds of corruption we would rightfully criticize in the other party. The week before the election, our most senior senator is convicted on federal charges - and that's only the latest example.
"Number three, we have got to be the party that offers real solutions to the problems that American voters, American families are worried about. We don't need to abandon our conservative principles; we can't just be the 'party of no.' We need to offer real solutions on making health care more affordable, on the economic challenges facing families, on the international threats."
