Lest we forget, people are elected to represent and serve their constituents — not a national political party’s agenda. Last week, on the other side of the aisle, 39 Democrats in the House of Representatives voted against a Democratic president’s single most important policy goal. I cannot sit idly by and let the American people think there is not room for disagreement within the Republican Party…

On these points, Steele and I agree. Health care and the stimulus bill passed earlier this year are classic liberal policies, and as Republicans, we should be proposing fiscally responsible, efficient alternatives to the challenges facing the economy and health care in particular. But to threaten retribution on Republicans for voting their conscience is unacceptable, and to scare them from engaging in the debate is irresponsible. The RNC chairman should not be in the business of going after our own — that’s a recipe for defeat and irrelevance.