There is a lot of talk (and blame) about what the Republican Party needs to do to rebuild itself.  As a campaign Internet consultant, I certainly agree with Patrick Ruffini that change won't come from the top down and that the Internet is vital in developing real grassroots operations.  However, it seems to me that something considerably more important is missing from many of the strategies suggested so far.

Since the Republican Party congressional losses of 2006, many people have been offering advice to the GOP, but it seems as if no one is listening to the likes of Richard Viguerie, Ryan Sager, John Dean, Peggy Noonan, Ron Paul, Michael Tanner, Bob Barr, and the many others who have been suggesting the same general message: get back to the basics of small-government conservatism.

The Internet is merely a tool, a medium to inform and energize the grassroots.  Without a coherent message, it's as useless as John McCain's Meetup numbers.

It's almost as if Republicans have forgotten what fiscal conservatism is.  To illustrate the point, I recall speaking with one of the students Mitt Romney had reportedly bussed in to CPAC 2007.  When asked why she supported Romney, the student replied that "Romney's health care plan in Massachusetts is a shining example of a conservative solution."

Shortly after this encounter, I ran into Ryan Sager in the hallway.  After relating the story to him, he chuckled and made reference to his book The Elephant in the Room.  Months later, when I told Richard Viguerie the same story, he shook his head sadly and talked about a lost generation which knows virtually nothing about conservatism.

Face it folks, the Republican Party has lost its branding.  It is no longer inaccurate to consider the GOP the party of big government, bloated budgets, billion dollar tax increases and bailouts. 

Immediately following Super Tuesday, many of us knew and accurately predicted November's electoral outcome.

Republicans nominated a man with a poor record on the Second Amendment and an absolutely abysmal record on the First.  While Obama (according to NTU data) wanted to increase federal spending by nearly $300 billion per year, McCain's policy proposals would have increased the cost of government by almost a hundred billion dollars per year.  And these data were derived prior to McCain's support of the bailout plans.

McCain talked a big game about cutting earmarks, which aren't nearly as statistically significant as even the tip of an iceberg.  So we cut a few million here and there while we pour a few hundred billion into the trough of ever-increasing federal budgets -- and then we start splashing bailouts into the swill.

The Republican Party can rebuild if and when voters find them credible on issues relating to fiscal responsibility.  With the Democrats in control of Congress and the White House, there will certainly be a target-rich environment for GOP personalities to scream a small-government message at the top of their lungs. 

Toward the end of his campaign, McCain started accusing Obama of being a socialist.  He failed to remember that while his index finger was pointed directly at Obama, three of his fingers were pointed right back at himself.

If my former political party is to get back on track, it is going to have to take a long look in the mirror and soberly make the decision that it's time for change -- that it is time for some real change.