This video contains a 2:30 minute report on a November 14 meeting of Republican governors who are grappling with the Party's defeat in the 2008 elections. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin says, "I promise you: Americans will be looking to their governors for reaction, for stepped-up leadership, and for our abilities to unite and to progress." Republican Representative Mike Pence of Indiana adds that the party "lost our willingness to fight for those principles of fiscal discipline, limited government, and reform." Following clips of their speeches, governors from Minnesota and South Carolina further analyze what the Grand Old Party needs to do to regain popularity. They also discuss the ailing American automobile industry and explain why they don't believe the federal government should bail it out. Quotes "We are now the minority party. But let us resolve not to become the negative party, too eager to find fault or unwilling to help in this time of crisis and war." - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin "I would describe a party as really, in a business sense, nothing more than a brand. And if you think about the great brands of time, they do what they say they're going to do." - South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford "It's not freedom, it's not liberty when you handcuff your children and your grandchildren to a wagon full of debt. It's not freedom and liberty if you allow the government to take over the health care system." - Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty "My view is let [the car companies] go. … if you can't go through that process of creative destruction -- as Adam Smith called it -- then you go to the heart of undermining that which has created the wealth that we enjoy as Americans." - South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford Warm Up Questions 1. What is the Republican Party? What does it stand for? 2. What is a governor? How is a governor's job different than the job of a member of Congress? 3. Why do you think Republican John McCain lost the 2008 presidential race? Which of his campaign's problems are also problems for the Republican Party as a whole? Discussion Questions 1. In what ways is the Republican Party a brand the way Coke or Google or iPod are brands? 2. Do you think the Republican Party needs to remake or redefine the brand? Why or why not? How would it do that? 3. What parts of the Republican Party platform do you agree with? What parts do you disagree with? 4. When did the party get the nickname the Grand Old Party? What does it mean? Additional Resources Transcript of this report Analysis of the GOP future