One of the big challenges for our party is to demonstrate to people that we have an agenda for economic prosperity and that we can be trusted with their money.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
As Republicans, our challenge is to become a pro-market party and not be a pro-business party.
In the Republican Party, we talk all the time about the importance of free markets and open competition. It seems to me that if we don't practice what we preach, we won't have much credibility with others.
The bottom line is, I hear my donors, I hear our base out there, I hear the leadership. And we're taking steps to make sure that we're even more - how shall we say it - fiscally conservative in our spending and certainly making sure the dollars are there when it's time to run our campaigns.
We have to start grounding our policies in facts and recognize that a strong economy is critical for funding progressive priorities.
The slogan of the moderate Republican Party is this: we are rich, and we are not going to take it any more.
Prosperity is necessarily the first theme of a political campaign.
I do think our challenge is to balance credibility and a clear message about how we would reduce the deficit with boldness about the choices that we put before the public.
My attempt is to try to broaden the base of the Republican Party, to try to bring in people that can agree and that can disagree on that, because I think the issues that we face about terrorism, about our economy, about the growth of our economy are so important that we have to have the biggest outreach possible.
The monied interests are doing what they do best - making money. The rest of us need to do what we can do best - use our voices, our vigor, and our votes.
Our party, I can tell you, is very transparent; we believe in our credentials. Our credentials are our only credibility; we are not going to compromise on that; we are the commoners.