President-elect Obama has called for Congress to move quickly and in a bipartisan fashion on legislation to help our economy get back on track. The Democratic majority in Congress has responded by proposing to revoke key elements of the Contract with America — reforms put in place as part of the Contract in 1995 to make Congress more transparent and accountable to the people it serves. The rules package Democratic leaders will reportedly bring to the floor and ram through the House today would change House rules to limit dissent and make it harder to cut taxes, and would repeal term-limits for incumbent committee chairmen such as Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) and Henry Waxman (D-CA), reversing key reforms adopted at the start of the historic 104th Congress in 1995. Congressional Democrats are also holding a one-party hearing Wednesday on economic “solutions” at which skeptical viewpoints are not allowed. (Don’t expect to hear anyone challenge the notion that using taxpayers’ hard-earned money to add 600,000 new government workers in the name of economic “stimulus” is responsible policy. Nor should you expect to hear from any of the more than 50 economists who have contacted my office to express skepticism about the idea that the government can simply borrow and spend us back to economic prosperity.)

At this time of economic anxiety, the American people deserve better. Open debate and transparency are two of the key ingredients needed to produce good legislation. The Contract with America was about restoring the bonds of trust between the American people and their elected leaders. If Congressional Democrats proceed with these regrettable changes, the message it sends about their intended style of legislating in the 11th Congress will be an ominous one.

As I and other House Republican leaders noted in a letter to Speaker Pelosi yesterday, the rules package Congressional Democrats are poised to ram through the House today does not represent change; it is reverting back to the undemocratic one-party rule and backroom deals that the American people rejected more than a decade ago. And it has grave implications for the American people and their freedom, coming at a time when an unprecedented expansion of federal power and spending is being hastily planned by a single party behind closed doors. Republicans will vigorously oppose repealing these reforms if they are brought to a vote on the House floor later today.

I’ve asked my colleagues for the privilege of serving as Republican Leader because I’ve tried to lead by personal example in the fight for smaller, more accountable government, and I sense that we now have our greatest chance in more than a decade to renew that fight together as a party.

We didn’t win yesterday’s election. But during the 110th Congress, while I have been Leader, House Republicans have learned how to win an issue, even in a toxic political environment, by standing on conservative principles. And knowing how to win an issue gives us the ability to rebuild a majority coalition, one issue at a time.

What do I mean by winning the issue? When the chips were down for our team last spring and gas prices were skyrocketing, I urged that we put all our efforts into championing an “all of the above” energy strategy. We focused relentlessly on the need for such reform throughout the summer, connecting with the concerns of real Americans and illustrating the consequences of a Democrat-controlled Congress. It gave us renewed credibility as reformers that helped prevent deeper GOP losses yesterday. When my colleagues Mike Pence, Tom Price, and Lynn Westmoreland sparked the historic energy protest on the House floor, I and other GOP leaders joined them immediately and did everything in our power to keep it going. Weeks later, as a result of our actions, the Democratic majority lifted the ban on offshore energy drilling.

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America’s energy crisis has reached critical mass. Our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, the result of decades of misguided Washington policy, is making us vulnerable abroad, and destroying jobs and hurting families and schools at home.

To solve this crisis, we need to do it all, and we need to do it now. We need alternative energy sources – wind, solar, biomass, clean coal, nuclear. We need more conservation. And in an environmentally sound manner, we need to unlock the vast oil and gas resources that are currently off-limits to the American people in energy-rich locations such as Alaska, the mountainous West, and deepwater energy zones far off our coasts.

In short, we need all of the above.

The good news: legislation that would put the “all-of-the-above” strategy into effect – the American Energy Act – was introduced in Congress two months ago. It enjoys strong support among the American people. The bad news: Congress is controlled by the Democratic Party. And with time running short, its leaders – Nancy Pelosi of California, Harry Reid of Nevada, and Barack Obama of Illinois – have refused to allow a vote on “all of the above.”

By doing anything less than all-of-the-above, Congress is cheating our children and defying the will of the American people, who want Congress to pass the most aggressive energy reforms possible. It’s also delaying our nation’s transition to clean, alternative, homegrown energy – the very objective Democratic leaders claim to support.

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Happy fourth birthday, RedState. Perhaps the greatest weakness of the internet medium is that we can’t sing you the “Boehner Birthday Song” in person.

I ran for Congress in 1990 because, like your contributors and users, I believe strongly in the need for a limited and more accountable federal government. Since that time technology has changed dramatically, but the fundamental need for oversight and passionate citizen activism has remained. The internet has been a gift to our democracy, increasing the transparency of our political process and giving the American people a powerful tool for the rapid exchange of ideas and information. The community that has been cultivated here at RedState has made the most of this gift, using it to hold elected leaders accountable and providing a vibrant forum to discuss conservative principles and reforms that offer hope for a better, more secure America.

While RedState has already left an indelible impression on national politics, we must not forget the critical need for activism on the state and local level. Having served previously as a state legislator, a township trustee, and even as president of my neighborhood homeowners’ organization, I can attest that getting involved makes a difference. I’ve watched with appreciation over the past four years as the RedState community has steadily increased its involvement in local government with impressive results. I look forward to seeing further evidence of that expanding reach in the weeks and months ahead with the launch of RedState 3.0.

As we look ahead to the challenges of this year and beyond, I’m encouraged by the fact that the conservative movement has cemented its position online in growing communities like RedState. Our mission together now is to continue building and continue fighting. Building a better future for America requires new conservative ideas rooted in our enduring principles. By harnessing the power and possibilities of technology, RedState is now poised to play a larger and more pivotal role than ever in that process.