Where does the GOP go from here?(Editor's note: Steve Scheffler, president of the Iowa Christian Alliance and a Republican National Committee member, sent the following e-mail to Iowa Republicans in the wake of the November election. This, and two replies, are reprinted here with permission.)

 

Dear Fellow Republicans:

Election Year 2008 is now history. I am sure that you have had time to reflect on the results, what went right, what went wrong, and where do we go as a party from here. At a first glance, the results were discouraging. But let's put all the facts in perspective:

Reader issue #711 The Reader's 2008 gift guide can be downloaded here.
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The tours focus on paintings on the birth of the Christ Child. The tour follows this familiar story from the announcement to Mary that she will bear a Son, to the young boy in His mother's arms.

A tour guide will meet visitors in the main lobby. Holiday cookies and hot beverages will be served after the tour. For more information call 563-326-7804 or visit figgeartmuseum.org.

Free with the price of paid admission or membership.
ADMISSION: $7 adults, $6 seniors (60+), students, educators, $4 Youth (12 & under)

About the Figge Art Museum
The Figge Art Museum actively serves the public by promoting appreciation and creation of visual art through education, and by collecting, conserving and exhibiting art. The museum collection includes more than 3,500 paintings, photographs, sculpture, and works on paper from the 16th century to the present.

During your visit to the museum, we encourage you to explore our expansive galleries, special exhibitions, and the Family Activity Center. For an in-depth experience, we offer a variety of art classes, gallery talks and lectures. Each year, several special events--from film presentations to family days?are held at the museum and expand on the themes of the exhibitions. 

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Included here are the responses we received to our economic-growth questionnaire, which was sent to 20 representatives of local governments and economic-development organizations.

photo-contest.jpgWe know we've been mean.

In the history of our photo contests, we've included such dastardly abstract categories as "middle," "awkward," "metamorphosis," and "waste." Yeah, we're jerks. However, our hearts have temporarily thawed. So ...

This time, it's easy. Our categories for the fall 2008 contest are "BABIES" and "PETS."

But our kindness will be short-lived, as the deadline for submissions is November 19. Winners will be published in our December 3 issue.

For the bailout bill, public opinion is running anywhere from 100 to 1 to 300 to 1 or more against passing this bill, according to sources on Capitol Hill. Given the massive size of this package, the fact that it rewards the guilty on Wall Street and does nothing to address the cause, that anger is fully justified.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, near seemingly endless steel mills that lined the Ohio River. These mills poured fiery molten steel out of huge melting pots and afforded opportunity to many new immigrants experiencing American freedom for the first time. My elementary school was next to the UP (United Presbyterian) Church, and my first-grade teacher also taught Sunday school. We started the school day with a Psalm, and recited the Pledge of Allegiance with our hands over our hearts, and we believed in those words. We sang patriotic songs in class and waved flags and sparklers on the Fourth of July.

"Branding Christianity" by John Whitehead is confusing. (See River Cities' Reader Issue 699, August 27-September 2, 2008.)

In the first place, Rick Warren is not "America's pastor." There is no "America's pastor" any more than there is "America's rabbi" or "America's imam." If we could get that straight, perhaps our presidential candidates would not feel like they have to "pander" to us. Rick Warren is a nice guy, but he is not "the future of Christianity in America." We have thousands of spiritual leaders in our country. A few of them are brilliant and/or charismatic. Most of them are simply faithful and hard-working. We should listen to them, study our own sacred texts, and, yes, "speak truth to power."

Reader issue #700 "Fairness" is an ideal that most people would like media outlets to embrace, but as a federal policy for television and radio, it's been dead for more than 20 years.

Yet despite that, the rule known as the Fairness Doctrine won't go away.

This is the 700th issue of the River Cities' Reader. Thank you, readers and advertisers, for your support of the independent and free press these past 15 years. Without you this milestone could not have been achieved. And without the dedication and diligence of our outstanding staff, you would not have access to the weekly coverage of local issues and events in an intelligent, balanced manner that is the exception rather than the norm in today's media.

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