The Republican Party over the past 10 years has been in a very similar state to that of the 1970’s.

Today, much of the population would define themselves as conservative, but only a small portion would identify with being Republican.

“Back then it was very much the corporate party,” said Craig Shirley, author of Rendezvous With Destiny: Ronal Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America. The left is still using that argument against us in smear tactics that labels us corporate yes men. 

Our solution for today is the same one that Rendezvous With Destiny records. We need to communicate that the Republican Party is the party of the individual. We need to tap into peoples’ desires to be in control of their own destinies.

Shirley thinks we can take our country in a positive direction because we have the facts, sentiment and arguments to make the intellectual case that limited government works, and that countries are most productive when the power flows from bottom to top, not top down.

Rendezvous With Destiny shows how Reagan was against any monopolization of power which is the current American sentiment.

Deficit issues are also a high concern among the average American. Both today and in the 1980’s our country accumulated debt due to high spending. However, according to Tim Mooney, the National Coordinator of Deficit Free, the debt we accrued by out-spending the Soviets in the cold war was owed mostly to ourselves. Our current debt is owed to other nations, thus subordinating America in a way never seen before.

• You can be a part of the deficit solution by visiting http://www.deficitfree.com  

Some people get tired of iconizing Reagan, but I think after reading this book they will see how he was a man deeply influenced by Jefferson himself. Actually, a return to Reagan is a return to our founding, and that is exactly what I am hoping for.

Today's Bloggers Briefing at the Heritage Foundation featured two great guests: Congressman Pete Olson (R-TX) and John Solomon of the Washington Times.

Rep. Olson spoke first, and addressed the health care bill being considered by Congress. He said that there are three things people are upset about regarding this bill: the tax increase, long-term budget implications, and the public option. People understand that the public option will mean a government bureaucrat interfering in medical matters. And while there is some hope for conservatives regarding the health care bill, Rep. Olson said the GOP will not underestimate Speaker Pelosi – she is committed to passing the bill.

The Congressman also spoke about media bias against conservatives. He said it is a fact that the mainstream media does not treat Republicans fairly, and emphasized the need for conservatives to utilize blogs to get out their message.

Read more about Rep. Olson’s comments at today’s briefing in The Hill.

After Rep. Olson, John Solomon of the Washington Times spoke.

Solomon described the Washington Times as “platform agnostic,” meaning the news agency strives to be on every platform available - video, TV, the Internet, you name it. As of now, the news agency has 52 channels to get its news out to the public, and is constantly working on more (including an iPhone application.)

This strategy seems to be working. The Washington Times web site has seen a 500% growth in its visitors in just 1 year, and is now the 12th largest newspaper in the country, reaching 890 million people in 2009. This growth may also have something to do with the Washington Times' investigative reporting as the newspaper is constantly breaking important stories. On that note, Solomon advised us to check out the front page of the Washington Times tomorrow for a big story they will be running.

Solomon also spoke about a new project – TheConservatives.com – which he described as the "Google of conservative thought" and a “meritocracy of ideas.”

TheConservatives.com has enormous capabilities, including giving grassroots conservatives the ability to engage with major conservative leaders like Fred Thompson, Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist and Liz Cheney. It can also be used to activate grassroots campaigns, test messaging points, and introduce new ideas and get them out quickly. Solomon said the purpose of TheConservatives.com is to marry leadership with the grassroots, and provide a platform for the grassroots to bubble up to the top, versus the traditional top-down approach.

Importantly, TheConservatives.com monitors in real time, without any polling, what people are talking about. It also monitors what conservative leaders are talking about. Solomon said that former Governor Sarah Palin’s staff use TheConservatives.com to watch what she says on Twitter and Facebook.

Bottom line: be sure to check out TheConservatives.com. You can also follow @WTconservatives on Twitter.

The Bloggers Briefing

Yesterday, Robert Bluey and the Heritage Foundation launched its new website centered around the weekly Bloggers Briefing: http://thebloggersbriefing.com/

The site's launch is exciting news and a direct correlation to the success of Robert's weekly meeting. Now, the conservative blogosphere has a central place to grab conservative content and follow the weekly message or campaign each week.

Here's what Robert Bluey had to say about the site's launch:

Back in May 2006 when I started hosting The Bloggers Briefing with Tim Chapman, I never expected that I'd still be doing it every week more than three years later. What started as an off-the-record meeting is now a place where guests regularly come to break news. So naturally I'm very excited to announce the launch of TheBloggersBriefing.com, a website that will aggregate all of the great content -- from videos and photos to your blog posts and tweets (hashtag #TBB).

Obama to Kids: Want to be President? Be Careful on Facebook

Prior to his live Internet broadcast to students across the country earlier today, President Obama answered questions at a Virginia high school.

Asked by one student how he could become President someday, Obama issued a warning about Facebook. “I want everybody here to be careful about what you post on Facebook, because in the YouTube age whatever you do, it will be pulled up again later somewhere in your life. That’s number one,” he said, according to Bloomberg.

5 Rules for Better Web Writing

Perhaps one of the most overlooked aspects of putting together a website or social media campaign is the copy. Many people assume that the same words that work for print campaigns or materials can just be copied and pasted for the web, but that’s just not true. The web is an entirely different medium, and copy needs to be treated with the same respect that design and user interface elements get.

Text is a very important part of user experience on the web, so it needs and deserves the same sort of design consideration. You must make your text usable in the same manner that you do the rest of your website or social media campaign materials. In short: text is user interface. Here are five rules for writing better for the web.

Are Conservative Bloggers More Bark than Bite? How to Fix it.

Is the conservative blogosphere more bark than bite?

Over the years, I've observed several instances where prominent conservative bloggers have unilaterally urged a certain action -- only to see it fall flat. This has included failed efforts to oust an incumbent RINO Congressman -- as well as attempts to expunge embarrassing elements from the conservative movement.