At first I thought I'd won The Publisher's Clearing House. Then I opened the the "letter" and figured I was the victim of a Democrat propaganda campaign. Then I sadly realized this fundraiser disguised as a "survey" was sent by the RNC. Please do not continue to send out this shallow, contrived BS. You claim to want to know what I think and then send me a "survey" of childish, loaded questions including words and phrases such as "massive tax hikes", "massive bureaucracy", "far-reaching", "draconian regulations" etc... Its insulting - and if its effective then I have less hope for this party than ever. I will continue to give locally of my time and resources where it can be best utilized. I hope this garbage does not appeal to the foundation of our party but is just an attempt to energize a small, sad fraction of conservative voters. This is truly the kind of tactic I would expect from the Dems who count on their constituency to not think but emote. To have no odeas of their own but to follow "The One". Whatever PR firm came up with this one - please dump them and try to appeal to our higher senses rather than our lowest common denominator going forward. RM - Colorado

Chris Christie is a big government Republican, so don't be too excited about that one (although at least he'll probably be better than Corzine). Ken Cucinelli's victory in the race for attorney general of Virginia is very noteworthy; Cucinelli is a strong proponent of state sovereignty, which is one of the most important attributes for any good state official. Going into 2010, the GOP must focus on state sovereignty candidates for governor in states like Oklahoma (Randy Brogdon), Georgia (Ray McBerry) and Texas (Debra Medina).

Don't kid yourself that ALL of us helped with those outcomes, Mr. Steele. The voting public is on the verge of being ready to support a third national party, perhaps like the Constitutional Party. The RNC should be HELPING that to occur for the good of the nation. (there's a novel idea...'the good of the nation'...rather than of 'the party'.) With a viable alternative such as that, voters could choose between a moderately conservative Republican or a staunchly conservative (say) Constitutionalist. It would almost be like a return to that political environment where the Democrats were 'moderately conservative'. Having two degrees of comservatism to choose from, the modern iteration of the Democrat Party would whither into a petulant Progressive Party or Socialist Party with only about 20% of the population paying them any heed, at all. RNC support for this evolution should have been evident in the recent elections, but was not. In any locality where it is apparent that a third party candidate has more popular support than the Republican endorsed by the RNC, the RNC should shift it's support early on to that conservative candidate. Failure to do so will (most likely) result in a Democratic win, as happened in District 23 of New York City...which does harm to both the 'conservative movement', and the 'supposedly conservative' RNC. If a Republican candidate cannot uphold the traditional values of conservatives to the extent necessary to capture or retain full popular support, funding that candidate is a waste of member-provided RNC resources. After you have assured me that the RNC is willing to act in this way, I will reconsider my decision to stop donating to Republican Party fund drives. If Sarah Palin (or any other patently conservative candidate) again receives the tawdry treatment she had from the Republican leadership last year, my unwillingness to donate to Republican fund drives will become PERMANENT.

Don't kid yourself that ALL of us helped with those outcomes, Mr. Steele In any locality where it is apparent that a third party candidate has more popular support than the Republican endorsed by the RNC, the RNC should shift it's support early on to that conservative candidate. Failure to do so will (most likely) result in a Democratic win, as happened in District 23 of New York City...which does harm to both the 'conservative movement', and the 'supposedly conservative' RNC. If a Republican candidate cannot uphold the traditional values of conservatives to the extent necessary to capture or retain full popular support, funding that candidate is a waste of member-provided RNC resources. After you have assured me that the RNC is willing to act in this way, I will reconsider my decision to STOP donating to ALL Republican Party fund drives. If Sarh Palin (or someone as patently conservative as she) decides to re-enter national politics...and again receives the tawdry treatment dished out by the Republican leadership...that unwillingness to donate will become PERMANENT. The voting public is on the verge of being ready to support a third national party, perhaps like the Constitutional Party. The Republican Party should be involved in HELPING that to happen...for the good of the nation. (Now there's a novel idea, 'for the good of the nation'...rather than 'the party'.) A vibrant third party would give the voter a choice between a 'moderate conserative' Republican, and a 'staunch conservative' Constitutionalist. That would almost take us back to the environment where it was the Democrats who were moderately conservative. Given these two political choices, the modern iteration of the Democrat Party would whither away into a petulant Progressive Party or Socialist Party with only 20% of the nation giving it any heed, at all. If the RNC does not begin working for the betterment of the nation instead of the survival of the party, that survival is in serious jeapordy.

Listen to the people and pass the word on to those who think we can continue doing business as usual.No more of these so called Republicans,and as the head of the RNC it is your duty to call these would be's to task.Do not fear we are with you,get tough and stay that way,we have a long haul ahead of us to 2012.Start the search now and find a viable candidate,and do not look into the pool of have beens and could have beens,get some fresh ,clean,ethical conservative willing to fight and we will make a change .

Mr. Steele--We'll see if you are actually listening. Talk is cheap. Action is what counts. Have you been following the internet attacks against Marco Rubio in Florida orchestrated by the state GOP? I can only assume if this is the kind of people that Charlie Crist surrounds himself with, he must be swimming in the same toilet. If you are truly listening, not one single cent should be given to Charlie Crist. NOT ONE SINGLE CENT. How can we defeat unethical Democrats when we're having to spend time trying to clean out unethical Republicans? The RNC has been a poor judge of character (Dede), so until it is proven that you are actually listening, my money will be sent directly to conservative candidates. I think you have a long way to go before the RNC can be trusted. We'll be watching very closely.

I am pleased to see voters swing away from the far left; BUT I HOPE IT DOES NOT GO AS FAR RIGHT AS THE GOP HAS BEEN. I am a moderate Republican. Sometimes an independent. I think we can restore some sense to the national scene, but we must be less partisan and more sensible. Please. Don't mess it up again. Stay aware from Limbaugh's extremism.

Michael, I think the outcome of the race in New York 23 reveals one of the major problems faced by party leadership. The Washington elite leadership felt they selected a good candiate to run in the race. However, the party members were upset they selected a liberal candidate rather than Hoffman. Conservative party members tried to pull this one out but, turns out to be too late. There are lessons here for party leadership. If those lessons aren't learned quickly, the success in Virginia and New Jersey will be a blip. I am a conservative first and a Republican second. I have been dismayed the party has been moving away from the conservative principles embraced by many of our past leaders, particularly Reagan. The Republican party is supposed to embrace the Constituion, the Bill of Rights and limited government. However, in the past 10 years, I think many of the Republicans in Congress have gorgotten their roots. That's why so many of us are upset with the party leadership. You can no longer take our votes or our contributions for granted. More independent and conservative party candidates will surface and receive our support unless the party leadership steers a course back to the conservative principles we embrace. If it doesn't, the party will continue to shrink. There is little time to waste until 2010 and 2012 elections are here. The leadership needs to publicly embrace the guiding priciples long ago abandoned and identify candidates who likewise support those principles. The party leadership needs to pay attention to the grassroots members and not think they know what's best for America. Party actions demonstrate that isn't the case. The Party has definitely lost it's way. It's time to follow the mebers back home.

I want to echo the comments many others on here. My first vote in any election was for the second term of Reagan. I have been a strong supporter of the party and was really impressed with the contract with America. But in the last 8 years I have been completely disgusted by many of the current republicans. I did not believe in McCain because he was just democratic lite why not just vote for the real thing. I stopped calling myself a republican about 8 months ago because I can not figure out what the party stands for. Your Support of the NY23 candidate Scozzafava surely justifies my new found disgust with the party. I along with a wave of former republicans and independents will no longer support the RNC. I will contribute directly to candidates that are not interested in creating a welfare state or running our country in to bankruptcy. The Report that the US could loose its AAA rating should be a rallying call for traditional smaller government values. We have to balance our budgets and pay down the trillions of dollars in nation debt that we have. A smart platform would also include job creation i.e. bringing manufacturing back to the US (not Green job BS). We cannot survive as a nation with our current trade deficits. This is a opportune time to analyze what the party truly stands for! Create a new contract with America for the 21st century. A contract that all republicans in congress support, vote for, and talk about as a unified voice! You say you get it and we hear you talk the talk now go walk the walk if you want our votes.

You hear our comments. Why isn't any-body like you speaking up about a-lot of the things going on now? Example, the Scazafava thing, troop decisions, squishy republicans etc.