Letter to RNC Chair Michael Steele

Dear Mr. Steele,

I just received your latest survey, which you called a crucial project, without the likes of which the RNC cannot create a plan. I must respectfully disagree. The RNC has a problem, and the ultimate result of that problem was seen this election cycle. Barack Obama, as much as I despise what he stands for, did not ask people what they wanted, and ask for their money at the same time, BEFORE promising to act on the peoples' desires. The RNC has got to change this. You speak of wanting to stand for every grassroots leader and individual who shares your values. Well if this is true, why does the RNC not reflect all of our shared values? Why is it that I am still reading about juvenile bickering in the headlines of even Fox News? Have you even thought of what a laughing stock the latest "disinviting of Sarah Palin" makes us look to any and every voter who may have been on the fence? Sure I've seen your apology over the Rush Limbaugh "is an entertainer" bit, but it rings hollow. It reeks of "political strategy." If you honestly felt that way, why apologize? And if you didn't feel that way, WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU SAY IT? Rush Limbaugh is not just an entertainer. He is an entertainer, for certain. But he, like Sarah Palin, has a specific set of goals, values, and ideals for America (if you don't remember them, they're the ones that our party stands for), and he does not apologize for them. He calls it like he sees it. Much in the same manner as Rep. Michelle Bachmann calling out Geithner and asking him to show her where he was Constitutionally given any of these newfound authorities he is claiming. There is nothing wrong with that. You should be embracing that. There is a place for "moderate Republicans." It is called Independent. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. If this party is still the Republican party and if our values are still worth having, shout them from the rooftops. Let no person question what you believe and what you will fight for. If we (the Republican party) don't even know who we are or what we stand for, I can assure you that no one is going to want to take a stand with us. Who jumps to a ship that they know is sinking? No one does, I'm afraid.

I have listened to your commentaries on Fox for quite some time before you became the Chairman, and at that point, I was all for you being the Chairman, or perhaps a candidate. But you seem to have abandoned your true values and ideals for the sake of "strategy." The only "strategy" that we need is to get back to our conservative (fiscal, moral, and size of government) values and ideals, and be steadfast in them. Then, and only then, should we DARE to ask for anyone's money in support of those values. We cannot contribute to the gossip in the headlines, our moral values tell us that we should be above that. And our critics know this, which is why they jump with glee every time they hear a rumble, because they know it will be so well received in the main stream media.

If you have not figured out why so many average, heretofore uninvolved or uninterested citizens have backed Sarah Palin, I will attempt to explain it to you. She is who she claims to be. Her record in the past, and of the present, reflects the conservative values that we hold dear. She does not apologize about those beliefs or voting records. She does not change her stance to go along with some newfound strategy. One can never win when pretending to be someone he/she is not. People WILL donate if they are hearing Sarah Palin speak as a voice for the RNC because they believe that she truly does support and would vote the way our values sway us. I have the utmost respect for Newt Gingrich. But "uninviting" a loved and admired speaker does NOTHING to help in our efforts, and is probably about as anti-strategy as you were able to be. Did you poll your constituents to see where we stood on the uninvitation? No, I know this because I didn't get an email about it. I read about it in an article in which the author couldn't wait to point out to America how ignorant our party has become.

I will share something with you that I shared with Sarah Palin a few days after the election. I voted, for the first time in my life, this past election. I am 32 years old, a mother of 4, and am very conservative. I live in Texas, and for the most part, it is felt here that we're a Red state, so I've always felt that my vote didn't matter that much. And to be honest, I've never been moved by a politician before because they always seemed to talk the talk when it was strategically prudent, and then act in another way that helped them best in the polls. You all seem to know on a basic level that you are our employees and were "hired" on our behalf, but at your cores, you all disregard that when it comes down to it. Sarah Palin was different. Representative Bachman seems to be different as well. She is speaking up, however unpopular it is, to highlight the lack of constitutionality of many of the President's initiatives. That could turn out to be political suicide. But what these 2 women seem to have grasped, that most of you have not, is that even if you don't win another election and it is some other Republican who takes your place, it is NOT ABOUT YOU. It is about what is best for our country. If you truly believe that Conservative values of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and the value of life are best for America, then wear that on your sleeve. If one or two or three people speak out against you for it, so be it. THAT is what being a leader is about. Even those few who don't like what you are saying will admire and respect you for staying true to who you are and what you claim you stand for. For the record, I sent a handwritten letter, 2 days after the election to Sarah Palin, detailing much of what I'm telling you now. What would you have done in response? Probably sent me a generic form letter thanking me for support, with my name merged in, and a scanned signature, so that you didn't have to take time out to actually sit down and care about me on a personal level, right? That's what most politicians do. Do you know what Sarah did? She, when no one was looking, the cameras were gone, I didn't matter on a global scale, sat down and handwrote me a note back. She wrote it on her son, Trig's, birth announcement, and mailed it back to me. It would have been easier, I'm sure, to have a staffer do a mail merge for the bags of fan mail she was getting, and I'm sure she does that sometimes. But please take an example from her. Get back to basics. Stand for our Constitution, and the values, as written, of the Republican party, and then just run with them. You have the ability to send out these mass emails asking for our thoughts. Well then REALLY LISTEN TO US, and act on what we say, even if you don't think it is strategically the best move. We are the ones voting, and whatever it is that we want IS the best strategic move because if we don't feel that you support our values, we not only aren't donating, but we're not wasting our time to get out and vote or convince others to.

Please don't turn me, and the many others out there who have found a love and passion for involvement with our government, off to the idea. Please don't put us back on the bandwagon that believes, "my vote doesn't count...they will tell me one thing and then act in another way to better their political standing." Please show me that you are still a person, and not just another part of the political machine. I've attached a scanned copy of the note that Sarah Palin wrote me, front and back. I'm only sending it, hoping that you will look at it, and see what such a small gesture, can mean to someone, and how actually caring about how we feel can make us supporters for life--and you have to know that with that support comes our pocketbooks. Please don't be so naiive and do the RNC such a disservice as to ask for our money BEFORE you have adopted and acted on our values and ideals. Show us that we can depend on you not to change with the Washington winds, and the money and support will come. Myself and many others, will be your grassroots movement at the most basic level, but you have to stand for what we believe in. That simplistic idea is exactly how a man as extreme as Barack Obama landed himself in the Whitehouse so easily. He promised to do what his constituents wanted, the whole way through the campaign. He may be changing his tune now on some issues, but when he needed the support, he got it by reflecting the Democratic values. He wasn't telling them his values were the only ones and that people could vote for him or no one. This is the feeling that many of us get from the RNC at the present time. I'm frankly shopping around looking for another party. I can't consider myself Libertarian because of their stance on Abortion. I truly feel that THIS--the Republican Party--is where I belong, but please get back to what the party has always claimed to stand for, no apologies, no excuses.

With the greatest respect and hope for a positive change,

Natalie Nichols