The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is the caucus for conservative Republican House of Representative members. It was initially founded as a legislative study group in 1973, the same year as the founding of the Heritage Foundation. Having a long tradition of using conservative ideals to fashion legislation and legislative agendas, including those that gave us President Reagan and the original Republican Majority in Congress, last fall the RSC was the only legislative group offering free-market solutions to the economic crisis (ignored by the Democratic Congressional majority and the Bush Administration) that made any sense.

Next, write off anyone who asserts that it's always better to cut taxes than to increase government spending because taxpayers, not bureaucrats, are the best judges of how to spend their money.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement... it's always better to cut taxes than to increase government spending because taxpayers, not bureaucrats, are the best judges of how to spend their money?

The Republican Party is at its best when its leadership has a bold vision and is rooted to conservative principles: personal responsibility, liberty, limited government, traditional values, providing for the common defense, and optimism about the future.  But Republicans seem to have lost the ability to intelligently or ideologically define these principles and convey them to the American people.

• Back to basics: The first step starts with a little bit of self-reflection and "re-learning" the core principles of conservatism. Only through understanding the past can our core principles be applied and developed into meaningful solutions to tackle the challenges facing America.

• Party of Solutions: A new Republican platform of ideas and language must be created and championed, built on a foundation of conservative solutions. It will also need to be built from the ground up from fresh and innovative ideas.

• Rebuild the party's infrastructure and coalitions: There must be a specific focus on nurturing the grassroots, shoring up ties with existing coalitions and leading thinkers, and creating new infrastructure to meet the challenges of politicking in a new century.

• Hold Democrats accountable: This begins with a proactive and coordinated strategy between elected conservative leaders and outside allies. Americans need to be reminded on a daily basis that Democrats want to play politics and centralize power, raise taxes, cut defense spending, and undermine traditional values.

• Go on offense, engage and educate: Yes, Virginia, someone in Washington is fighting for you. And when Republicans stay on offense and engage, then it garners attention and provides opportunities to educate every American on conservative solutions that work. Look no further than the Energy Revolt on the floor of the House of Representatives this past August which gave Republicans a needed voice and identity.

• Remain unified and disciplined: Hostile Democrat majorities and liberal special interests are more energized than they have been in decades. Without unity and discipline, the differences between the two parties become blurred, and conservatives have every right to question allegiance to Republicans.

• Reclaim the American lexicon: Democrats have been successful in altering the mindset of what made this nation great through language and institutions. Once, Americans valued "responsibility," "self-determination," and "hard work." Now, these ideals have been replaced by fuzzy appeals to "diversity," "fairness," and "social justice." No longer can Republicans cede the language or institutions.

• Broaden the appeal: Republicans win elections when they run on an across-the-board conservative solutions-based agenda. However, the appeal must be broadened to acknowledge and embrace the demographics in our country. Failure to do so will relegate the party to permanent minority status.