Speaker Pelosi. Yes, I too just got a chill down my spine after seeing those two words together. It almost physically hurts when I think about it.

We need to be clear on one thing: the Democrats didn’t win this election; the Republicans shot themselves in the foot so many times that the whole campaign season was starting to look like a drunken Dick Cheney hunting trip.

The GOP deserved to lose this election. It abandoned its conservative base and principles and became a party concerned solely with staying in power. This should be a wake-up call for the Republican Party: do not take votes for granted – that’s what Democrats do.

When it comes to the GOP, it’s their conservative base that takes and gives away the power. Republican politicians found that out the hard way on Nov. 7.

The past few years, neoconservative policies have deeply hurt the Republican party. The 2006 election was about cleaning up our own house, getting rid of the Lincoln Chafee’s, Duke Cunningham’s and Mark Foley’s that have brought us down.

The party should no longer tolerate massive government spending, bungled handling of the war or corruption. Let’s not forget about the laughable transportation bill, lack of Social Security reform, massive budget deficits and pitiful excuse for an attempt to protect traditional marriage, which conservatives saw right through as a political stunt.

The GOP got the kick in the pants it needed, and I am confident that it will come crawling back to its base of the American conservative. This is the silver lining for conservatives during this depressing election cycle. At least the Republicans will go back to being the unabashed, proud, fiscally and socially conservative party that stands for limited government interference.

That is the Republican Party I know and love, and I look forward to 2008 when we take back some seats and win the White House once again!

But for now, with the Democrats in the majority up on Capitol Hill, there’s nothing left to do but sit back, relax and enjoy the tax hikes. Speaker Pelosi, you’ve won the battle, but you’ll never win the war of ideas.

– Dave Moberg is a middler political science major and president of the Northeastern College Republicans.