The future of the GOP

By DAVID MARK 11/30/08 7:13 AM EST

After the 2004 election, Republicans controlled the reins of the federal government. Freshly re-elected President George W. Bush boasted of the "political capital" he would expend among the newly expanded GOP congressional majorities, ushering in a new era of conservative governance. Yet the party lost control of Congress in 2006, along with a majority of governorships to the Democrats. The bottom fell out in 2008, as Democrat Barack Obama won the presidency and the GOP congressional ranks slimmed further. Politico has invited GOP governors, senators, House members, Republican National Committee chairman candidates and other top party leaders and commentators to weigh in on what went wrong for the Grand Old Party, and what it can do to climb back in the coming years.