The Challenge to the GOP

Among the issues the GOP has to confront going forward if they want to regain seats in Congress and ultimately the White House is how to combat the advantage that the Democrats have in urban areas. This map at the Washington Post shows just how Sen. Barack Obama won the White House. He won because of his strong showing in urban areas. The advantages carried in places like Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York City were more than sufficient to carry those states, and the map shows that outside major urban areas, the nation still remains Republican territory.

The GOP must do more to address that issue.

It has to rebuild its ground game to get out the vote in urban areas, but to do that, it must provide a more credible economic and social policy that actually addresses concerns that those areas have. McCain's economic policy was a muddled mess, and the GOP has to focus on fiscal responsibility if it wants to have a shot to regain seats in 2010. If President Obama turns to tax and spend as his primary economic policy as I expect he will, the GOP will have an opening to show that his policies will do nothing but extend the misery of the current financial mess.

The GOP should not pull its punches on dealing with the economic mess, and its underlying causes - the profligate spending by cities and states and the federal government on programs of dubious merit and the continued throwing of money at social problems has not solved them, even after 10, 20, 30, 50 or 60 years. New entitlements will only increase the costs on taxpayers. A coherent message must be crafted that addresses these concerns - noting especially that these folks aren't as well off under Democratic control of Congress since 2006, and that they've only gotten worse with Democrats in control of Congress and the White House.