Thank you, Nick.  It's an honor to represent the 'Tip of the Mitt' here in Lansing, and it's humbling to be in a position to serve my caucus as their Leader this term.  

Obviously this is a pretty busy time for you so I'll jump right to it here with the first question, and in a lot of ways the only question, big picture, where do Michigan Republicans go from here?

Let's look in the mirror for a minute.  In the House, we've lost 20 seats over the last 3 cycles.  We held the Senate by a few thousand votes.  With the notable exception of Mike Cox and Terry Land, our performance on statewide campaigns for state and federal office has been poor.  Perhaps most disturbing is that our overall brand has eroded to the point that the public doesn't trust Republicans to do what they have traditionally elected Republicans to do: fight for efficient and smaller government, respect the taxpayer dollar, and protect the freedom of the individual versus the power of the state.

The most glaring illustration of this that I can think of is the fact that President-elect Obama's key economic message was that he was going to cut taxes for most Americans.  Think about that: one of Obama's key strategies for election was the co-opting of a basic conservative message.

So where do we go from here?  First, as Obama's strategy shows, the issue isn't our philosophical tenets.  In my judgment, the issue is our lack of success in crafting themes based on those core beliefs that will resonate with voters.  To resonate with voters we will need to be trusted by them, and since trust doesn't just happen, we will have to earn it one voter at a time.  Second, we need a top-to-bottom review of our organizational infrastructure.  Many of us believe that Michigan's government is out of line with the needs of the state; isn't it also possible that the organization of the Michigan Republican Party is set up to deal with a different, dated style of politics?

Like the post-Watergate or the pre-Engler eras, I see this next several years as an opportunity to make some of the structural changes that will set up our party for the next generation.

It was a rough campaign year, and as you mentioned, we took a lot of losses in the House and you've got a smaller caucus than the GOP has had in just about forever. How do you view the caucus's role specifically over the next two years?

While our caucus is smaller than in the last session, it has some of the most capable and bright members that the state has ever seen.  There are names in our caucus that will be used in Republican political circles for years, maybe even decades to come.  

Since our ability to move policy on the floor is limited by our numbers, my hope is to work with the House Democrats in areas upon which we agree, while at the same time standing up in a clear and united voice against proposals that will harm the state.  When my caucus can improve legislation before it goes to the Senate, we should do that.  However, there will be times that we will have to stand up and expose harmful policy.

I also see a role for the caucus in the development of new longer-term policy objectives.  It's time for Republicans to be the party of ideas again, and I think that our caucus has the creativity and insight necessary to move that process along.  We will also tap into some of the best conservative thinkers in the state and country to develop policy.  I've asked Assistant Leader-elect Arlan Meekhof to head up that effort, and he is well under way.

I know when you were elected to the leadership post you actually named a whole new transition team to examine the caucus, the staffers who draw a state paycheck working for the caucus and a host of other topics as well.  What is the purpose of naming these task forces?  What are you hoping to accomplish with each?  There's a transition task force, human resources, committee on committees, policy development, campaigns... am I missing any?

No, you've hit the five transition committees that I've set in motion.  

As I said, Rep. Meekhof will be manning the helm of the policy committee.  His team is meeting with interest groups, economists, industry specialists, conservative visionaries and joe-six packs to help frame our policy objectives for the next legislature.  While he is focused on what can be done through legislation, he is also asking his committee to think about a larger vision for the House Republicans and the Republican Party in general.  It's a big job, and Arlan is the guy to do it.

The human resource committee is looking at how our House central staff is organized, as well as the operation of member offices.  We're giving the whole architecture a good scrubbing, and we'll try to clean up duplication and chain-of-command issues.  I've asked Rep. Goeff Hansen to head up this committee, and he's been ably supported by Rep. Phil LaJoy and incoming Rep. Cindy Denby, as well.

Committee on Committees is a traditional group that matches up members' interests and acumen with available committee assignments.  I'm very grateful to Rep. Jim Marleau for heading up this committee for the caucus.

I've asked incoming Rep. Pete Lund to do a complete review of the 2008 campaign with an eye toward where we need to make improvements going forward.  Pete comes from the business side of campaigns, so we are fortunate to have someone of his expertise reviewing our campaign performance.

All of these transition committees, as well as the details of member and staff transitions to the 2009-2010 legislature are being handled by my district Chief of Staff, Brian Mills, and Suzanne Miller-Allen.

The overall goals of these committees is to first ensure a smooth transition into the next legislature, and even more importantly to set the groundwork for the next Republican renaissance.

Now, obviously, RightMichigan is a community blogging site so I've got to come with the prerequisite new media question.  Things like blogging, video blogs, twitter, YouTube, social networking... you and I have spoken about these things personally more than once and if I had to write up a short list of the two or three legislators who most "get it" you'd be right at the top of that list, but how much is the caucus as a whole aware of these things, or, better yet, how seriously will the caucus be using the new media to communicate with voters and activists over the next few years?  Is it a priority?

Nick, the fact that you ask this question in all of your interviews shows that the Republican structure doesn't quite "get it."  Yet.

Look, our marketing strategies have been designed around communications systems that are fast becoming antiquities.  Embracing the new modes of communication isn't only a route to the next generation of voters, it's fast becoming a requirement to reach ANY voter, regardless of age.  No matter how good our message is, if we don't communicate it in the manner in which people want to receive it, we will not be given the opportunity to lead this state.

Progress in this area is a top priority for me.

Transitioning a little bit, while you're working on rebuilding the Republican brand and getting things ironed out in-house there's still the broader, more important job that the voters actually sent you to Lansing to do.  With such a significant Democratic majority, what should Michigan moms and dads be on the look out for or wary of during lame duck?  Next session?

The concern in lame duck is that legislation that would have created political liabilities before an election will move now that the election is over.  This is a period when some strange and even dangerous things are proposed and in some cases passed without being fully vetted.

My primary concern, today, regarding the next session is the impact of what could be a massive federal expansion on our state and our individual liberties.  For example, we know that Michigan has a structural budget imbalance that cannot be sustained without either substantial additional taxes or major reforms and cuts.  If our state receives a bailout from the federal government, though, the temptation will be to put off the pain associated with cuts and needed long-term reforms while that federal money is coming in.  It seems to me that if the Big 3 needed a reorganization plan before Congress would support a bailout, Michigan ought to have a plan, too.  

We also need to vigilant about the fact that our state and federal governments are primarily controlled by people who think that the solutions to society's ills are best found in governmental programs, rather than through individual effort.  I suspect we will see some striking proposals at both the federal and state levels.

How do we counter that sort of Democratic momentum?  Can we?  Is the caucus going to be willing to?

We counter the Democratic momentum by producing credible, clear and convincing arguments and counter-proposals that are tied to our core beliefs.  We go out and solicit ideas from people outside of Lansing.  We explain, step-by-step, why it is that our ideas are better for the state and the country than what is being proposed by the other side when the other side is wrong.

I'm convinced that this next House caucus is ready to be the front line.

Obviously you're going to keep pretty busy with your leadership position but you're a voting member of the legislature every bit as much as everyone else.  What are your constituents looking for over the next two years?  Are there any bills or initiatives on the horizon that you're particularly interested in seeing approved or for the sake of your district need to stand and oppose?

My district has a problem which unfortunately isn't that unique.  We are seeing more and more prescription drug abuse and trafficking in this state.  Working with law enforcement, doctors and pharmacists, I've produced a series of bills that I hope will be taken up in the next legislature to provide some tools to deal with this problem.  It's a problem that is worthy of a bi-partisan, bi-cameral solution.

Is there anything else you'd like to cover that I may have forgotten or missed?

There's lots more to talk about, so let's plan on doing this again soon!

Leader-Elect, thanks again for making the time!