Martinez: GOP Must Return To Core Beliefs

Republican National Committee Chairman Mel Martinez said Saturday that the GOP must return to core beliefs of smaller government, less spending, and fewer taxes to regain national leadership.

Martinez's remarks are the first since the Florida U. S. senator won the leadership position.

"There's nothing wrong with our philosophy. There's nothing wrong with our principles," Martinez told members of the Florida Republican Party at its quarterly meeting. "We need to go back to restoring the faith of the people."

Martinez said continued Republican success in Florida was a sign that state Republicans needed to lead a return to "the party of ideas." Florida Republicans held on to the governor's office and two out of three Cabinet seats. He attributed GOP losses nationally to the party's failure to speak "in a unified voice."

This is likely to be Martinez's biggest challenge in his role as RNC chairman. The first-term senator takes control of the party in January, as President Bush enters the latter half of his second term with deep division in the party on issues such as immigration. Many Republicans also are concerned about the policy toward the war in Iraq, and have criticized the tremendous growth in federal spending since Bush took office.

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