WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Some congressional Republicans, stunned by big mid-term losses, are calling for a return to GOP principles that propelled them to power in 1994.
Self-critics say straying from ideals of limited government and fiscal restraint made the major difference on Election Day -- not scandals, war, the economy or the president, the Christian Science Monitor said.
Meanwhile, the power struggle to lead the new Republican minority is under way. Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., announced he would not seek the minority leader's post in the next Congress.
"We did not just lose our majority, we lost our way," Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind, a top contender for House minority leader, said in a statement.
"While the scandals of the 109th Congress harmed our cause, the greatest scandal in Washington, D.C., is runaway federal spending," he said.
Libertarian critics say the key to the future is a return to the ideological roots in the Goldwater and Reagan eras.
