Sadly, I find myself agreeing with Mr. Mecham and Mr. Thomas. Under Republican leadership, our country was turned towards Socialism.  Is it any wonder that in reaction, Republican voters sat on their hands in disgust and allowed McCain and multiple (R) congressmen and senators lose their elections?

President Obama made a big point to tell Republican Lawmakers "not to listen to Rush Limbaugh". Yet what The President, the media and Rino Republicans don't get is that people do not listen to and support Rush because he has some magical hypnotic power over them. People listen to Rush because he was the first broadcaster that gave voice to the values and philosophy of many millions of Americans who up to that point had no one in media who spoke for them. Rush is popular because he listens to the people!  And Obama wants Republicans to ignore all those voices?

Republicans have ignored our voices and have reaped the results, lost elections, lost support, lack of funding. A huge segment of Republicans are furious at our leadership for selling our values down the river simply so they could get along with their liberal counterparts. When they held positions of power and had strength, they acted weakly and apologized for being too aggressive. They traded popularity with the media in exchange for their values, they let power go to their heads and practiced unsavory sexual, legal, or financial practices and figured they could do so with impunity.

McCain was one of the worst rinos. While the media propped him up as a "conservative", Republican voters knew he was anything but conservative and we sat on our hands. President Bush, known for ignoring public sentiment, also ignored his conservative constituents regarding illegal immigration, Government spending, and the Economic Stimulus.

The result of Republican Dereliction of Duty? We were well on our way to Socialism when Mr. Obama took office. We unlocked all the doors and spread out all our best jewelry and valuables so it would be free for the taking. All the current administration has to do is walk in and take what they want without any meaningful challenge.

Whether Republican politicians get it yet still remains to be seen. They totally misunderstood why they lost their majority in 2006, blaming everything but their lack of commitment to their basic values. So this election, they got slapped again. It seems that all but three senators are starting to realize that their constituents are furious at their lack of spine and focus. For the first time in years, Republican leadership has made a unified stand against something that violates our basic principals (The current stimulus bill). It may be too little too late, and it may be more due to Democrat leadership shutting Republicans out than Republicans standing up for principal. But it is a move towards waking Republican politicians up to the need to return to their roots and get serious about values based leadership.

Until Republicans wake up, or replaced by a viable conservative political party, We will have to learn to live with the people who handled Katrina being in control of our health care.

Doug Robertson