As someone who watched the Republican Party prosper in the 1990s, only to see it essentially collapse during the 2006 election, I believe balance is essential to the party’s rebirth. I watched from my perch as a leadership staffer as Tom DeLay and Chris Shays battled it out on issue after issue. DeLay sought to take the party to the right; Shays, to the left. DeLay used every tool to try to get moderates to toe the party line on issues such as taxes, abortion and spending, while Shays used the rules of the House to pound through things like campaign finance reform.

When DeLay and Shays could reach agreement, the party did well. When they couldn’t, the wheels came off the wagon and the party ended up in the ditch.