Traditional GOP values will Triumph

Forum Question: What's the state of the GOP? Sunday 3/3/2007 Wis ST. Journal Traditional GOP values will triumph Sunday Forum columnist Curt Gielow nailed what the GOP needs to do: Stay focused on important issues; reconfirm our convictions about a strong national defense; protect innocent lives; increase the flow of qualified, non-felon immigrants who accept assimilation of American values while closing the borders to illegal aliens; deal with the reality of the millions of illegal immigrants already here while stopping their exploitative employers with fines and jail time. Be realistic, positive and constructive. Cooperate with those across the aisle who are willing to do the same. Confront or ignore the negative, anti-American whiners whose defeatism brings all progress to a halt. Recall the necessity of American businesses downsizing in the 1980s and '90s to become leaner, more efficient, effective and productive to compete in a global market. Apply those painful principles to local government units -- police, fire, public schools -- which have successfully resisted structural changes or consolidation of services. Nationally, for over four years we maintained a modest growth rate, shrank the deficit in the last three years while maintaining low unemployment and interest rates and creating millions of new jobs, all due to cuts in tax rates that increased total tax revenue. It works. Keep it up. -- Bill Richardson, Madison