Despite what Rush Limbaugh may think, he is not the leader of the Republican party. There is no leader of the Republican party. The Republican party is in a catch-22.

It wasn’t just the last eight years that led the Republican Party to the brink of irrelevance. Since Nixon, Republicans have, for the most part, preferred to run on character attacks instead of the issues. Democrats have been accused of being unpatriotic, communists, socialists, terrorist sympathizers and rapist-loving pacifists.

When the New Deal ushered in an era of Democratic dominance – particularly in the “solid South” – Republicans developed a new strategy. A wedge is used to help split wood. Republicans used hot button issues as a wedge between the Democratic coalition that elected Franklin D. Roosevelt four times.

Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy’s dream – and predicted that he had signed the South over to the Republicans for at least a generation. Well a generation has passed, and Virginia and North Carolina going Democratic – to a black Democrat no less – proved LBJ’s words more true then he could ever have guessed.

Republicans have made some gains in the deep South. However, their stronghold in the South will not be enough to win the presidency or a majority in either chamber of Congress. For Republicans to win they must not return to their party’s politics, but to their party’s principles.

The conservative movement is about government doing only what it needs to do. Republicans have abandoned that principle time after time.

Republicans have supported the welfare of corporations but not the welfare of people. Republicans supported a bailout of the banking industry for nearly $2 trillion. Republicans, however, opposed President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan of tax cuts and infrastructure spending. These are not good election strategies. When ExxonMobil has been making record profits and is receiving millions in tax credits, it sends the message that conservatives care more about big businesses than the little guy.

In 2008, Republican Ron Paul was probably the closest thing to a truly conservative candidate. He supported small government across the board. That is what conservatives must come back to. Instead, the Republican message has been blatantly hypocritical. They argue for limited government in the economy but support government intervention in marriage rights, reproductive rights and international affairs. A more charismatic candidate with Paul’s message could go far in 2012.

The reason the Republicans are leaderless is none of the self proclaimed leaders actually support a conservative agenda. Right now Republicans are supporting the anti-Obama agenda.

For the good of the country, Republicans must move beyond saying no to everything the opposition wants to do and instead, say no to things that violate their parties principles, not their politics.