Friends, we are at a crossroads.  We lost and demographics and a quickly changing culture are going to make every 4 years harder and harder if we don’t broaden our base.  I’m not asking anyone to give up on their beliefs.  The Republican Party will continue to be a proudly pro-life, small government party that believes in America as a shining city on a hill.
But the geographic shrinkage of the party, combined with the ruthless and relentless drumbeat of the popular media accusing Southerners and conservatives, and especially Southern conservatives, of being racists can doom us.  If we lose our moderate voice we may find our message narrower and feed the perception that we are an unwelcoming party.
The time is now to begin welcoming everyone who agrees with our broadest principles and quit trying to purify the party with increasingly stringent litmus tests.