So, as I have predicted all along, the Republicans lost the midterm election. Am I surprised? No way. Read my first article, and you'll see quite clearly where I stated that the Democrats were going to win.

This is not a day where we should be angry at the Democrats. This is not a day where we should cry for Republicans. Honestly, the GOP has acted horribly over the course of the last two years. What should have been a great 109th Congress, on the heels of a re-election victory for President Bush, has been wasted and squandered. To be frank, the Republicans deserved to lose this election. There were times where it simply appeared that Republicans were tripping over themselves, trying to find out who could accomplish the more idiotic act. Republicans were complacent and became exactly like the Democrats were in the late 1980s and early 1990s - self-serving, crooked, bumbling buffoons.

While some of you are undoubtedly distraught over last night's election, and some of you may worry about the future of the Republican Party, do not lose hope. You will likely see news stories and commentary over the next few days about the possible end of the Republican Party. You'll hear rumors of a civil war brewing within the party. You'll certainly see a lot of finger-pointing from the Powers That Be, blaming one another for the losses, and you'll probably even hear calls for party leaders to step down. The mainstream media, of course, will eat this up and gleefully report it, adding credence to the notion that the Republican Party is dying.

Hogwash. The GOP isn't dying, it isn't going to splinter apart, and it isn't going anywhere. What will happen, however, is that after the party is done licking its wounds, it will do what it does best - fight from a minority position.

The GOP has done a pretty lousy job of legislating as a majority party. Back in 1995, when the Republicans finally overthrew the Democrats, our congressmen and senators didn't know what to do. Why? Because it had been forty years since they had been in power. One of the few things the GOP did right was to enact reforms in Congress - reforms that Democrats had shied away from for years. Of course, now that the GOP is out of power, those reforms may fall by the wayside. But, the GOP was great at reforming arcane and unfair rules of conducting business within the halls of Congress.

But, if you go back in time and look back in 1995, despite being in the majority, the GOP didn't act like it. Aside from the Contract With America, they didn't ram legislation through Congress. They still bickered and fought with the Democrats - and continued to act like they were the minority party. There were many outspoken conservatives who were literally screaming at the GOP, telling them that they were in charge and to act like it. It took a few election cycles for the GOP to figure out that they actually were in charge.

So, the GOP is now in a minority position again, and they'll hopefully learn that they can't sit around and whimper in the corners for long - otherwise in 2008 We The People might just pummel them. Frankly, the GOP should act like the Democrats did in 1995 - push for legislation that their constituents demand - something that the GOP failed to do in the 109th Congress. The GOP needs to filibuster just like the Democrats did, the GOP needs to block legislation just like the Democrats did, and the GOP needs to make threats, just like the Democrats did.

The Democrats, no doubt, will call Republicans obstructionists, just like they did in the 1980s and 1990s. They'll conveniently forget just how obstructionist they were over the last twelve years.

If the GOP is smart, they'll go back to Newt Gingrich and beg him to help draft a new Contract With America. This contract should be along the same lines as the one from 1994. It should demand to put integrity back into government. It should demand to follow through on promises to the American people. And, it should state clearly that it will really follow through on those promises, not merely deliver lip service and pass unfunded programs.

If the GOP is smart, it will need to work on its 2008 platform today. This platform should include real policies for dealing with illegal immigration. This is an easy one and will ring the loudest with the American people. The Democrats certainly aren't going to do anything to curb illegal immigration, and this is a subject that is of tremendous importance to most of America. This immigration policy should state that we're not going to just pass a law to say that a 700 mile wall along the southern border is good - it better well provide the funding to build that wall, and then it better find a way to defend the other 1400 miles of border. This immigration policy should state that we're going to put teeth in the current immigration laws - that when illegal aliens are found, that they will be arrested, processed and deported. This policy should not state that it is not feasible to arrest, process and deport illegal aliens. This policy should not state that we will offer a path of citizenship to people who have no respect for our laws. This policy should, however, state that we will offer improvements to our horrible system, allowing those who wish to immigrate to the United States a more streamlined process to do so.

This platform should include real policies protecting all of our rights guaranteed under the Constitution. This not only includes a right to worship as we please, be it in a private or a public setting (or to choose to not worship anyone), not only our right to protection from unreasonable searches and seizures, but a right to defend ourselves. There is no doubt in my mind that Charles Schumer and his cohorts are going to propose bills that will provide further assaults on the Second Amendment. One of the few things that the 109th Congress did right was to pass the Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act of 2006, which outlawed the practice of local governments confiscating legally-owned firearms under a state of emergency. The GOP needs to explain to the people that the Second Amendment isn't about duck hunting, rather, it is about defending our freedoms, and that the Republicans stand for protecting our freedoms.

This platform should include real policies that offer real solutions to real problems. The Democrats aren't going to offer anything more than lip service when it comes to securing our borders, just like the Republicans did this past Congress. Poll the constituents. See what we want. Do it on a district level, not a national level. Discover what we all have in common and propose legislation to satisfy those desires. When the Democrats block the legislation, Republicans should go directly to the American people and explain to them what is going on (take a page directly out of the Democratic playbook). The remaining GOP congressmen and senators should be demonstrating to the American people that they have a spine and are willing to deliver what the American public demands.

Of course, the big question still remains - Who controls the Senate? The lawyers will have to sort that one out.

Finally, remember this. Gridlock is a good thing. If the parties are too busy bickering with themselves, then they're not passing laws that further trample on our rights. For now, however, I worry about Colorado. We're totally ruled by the Democrats for at least the next two years. A lot of damage can be done, especially concerning our right to keep and bear arms. The GOP is going to have a much tougher job without a veto pen in the Governor's Mansion.

The GOP deserved to lose yesterday. But, if they put together a plan that will be strong on defense and strong on solidifying our constitutional rights, they can win control again in 2008.