Some of the Republican party’s most notable leaders has joined together in a new party-building effort called National Council for a New America. The National Council is a new initiative to hold grassroots discussions across the country on critical issues such as education, health care, energy, national security.

Holding the first townhall meeting on May 2, 2009 at a pizza restaurant in northern Virginia to kick off the initiative, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney acknowledged that the party has had setbacks in the past few months and that the Republicans needed a new vision and strategy to overcome idealogical differences, offer sound & practical solutions, and reconnect with the voters.

Here’s the full text of the letter announcing the creation of the National Council. CSPAN has a video of the townhall meeting here.

On CNN’s “State of the Union,” House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Governor Mitt Romney discussed the formation of the National Council:

Dear friends,

Today our country celebrates Memorial Day.

Nowadays, especially to our younger generations of new Americans, Memorial Day is thought of as a reason for a three-day weekend to be spent with family and friends. A holiday filled with BBQ picnics, boat races, fishing derbies, marathon races, or fireworks. But thanks to the meaningful works of many, we can ensure that along with all the fun & celebrations, Americans continue to appreciate the origin and the true meaning of this holiday.

Memorial Day is a day to remember and honor those men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice and given their lives for their country. It is day to cherish and pray for those currently serving this country at home or abroad. These men and women represent the best America has to offer and they serve their country with pride, with honor, and with courage.

So as you enjoy your BBQ outdoors and have a great time with your family and friends, take a moment to say thanks to those who have served in harm’s way to ensure that this land of ours is and will remain free and prosperous.

Two inspiring writings that we would like to share with you:

1) Those who make us say “Oh” by Peggy Noonan.

2) The below message from Michael Zak, a well respected historian of the Republican Party. He speaks with impressive historical knowledge and insights that Americans of all backgrounds and party affiliations can appreciate. Today, the Republican Party is in great need of leadership and reform initiative, and it is certainly helpful to understand our party’s rich history and accomplishments, particularly in the area of civil rights.

This Memorial Day, as Americans salute their fallen military heroes, Republicans can be proud that the holiday was established by one of their own, Senator John Logan (R-IL). Logan Circle in Washington, DC and Logan Square in Chicago were named after him.

John Logan was inspired by the practice in Petersburg VA, Waterloo NY and other places of decorating Civil War graves. As head of the Grand Army of the Republic, an early veterans organization, he proclaimed that on May 30, 1868 Americans should honor the soldiers and sailors who died in the war by decorating their graves with flowers.

Five thousand people came to Arlington National Cemetery for the first Memorial Day ceremony. The principal speaker that day was U.S. Representative James Garfield (R-OH), who twelve years later would be elected President of the United States. Memorial Day soon became an annual event, and President Richard Nixon signed it into law as a national holiday in 1971.

John Logan was born in southern Illinois on February 9, 1826. A lawyer by training, he served three years in the U.S. House of Representatives before joining the army with the onset of the Civil War, rising to the rank of major general.

Though a Democrat before the war, Logan opposed slavery and so re-entered politics as a Republican. In 1866, he was elected to the first of three more terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. John Logan was one of the managers in the impeachment trial of Democrat President Andrew Johnson. That year, he served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention. The Illinois legislature elected Logan to the U.S. Senate in 1871, and again in 1879 and 1885.

Senator Logan was radically opposed to slavery and then to Democrat oppression of African-Americans in the postwar South. The 1884 Republican National Convention nominated him for vice president, to balance the middle-of-the-road James Blaine at the top of the ticket. Blaine and Logan lost the election by a tiny margin. He and all Republicans took defeat especially hard because the Democrat elected vice president that year, Senator Thomas Hendricks, had actually voted against the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery.

In a moving tribute to his fellow citizens, in 1885 he invited some one thousand African-Americans to his home and shook hands with every one. When John Logan died the following year, the body of this great Republican lay in state for two days beneath the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, as a gesture of respect by a grateful nation.

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Michael Zak’s message is that Republicans today would benefit tremendously from appreciating the heritage of our Grand Old Party. He is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the nation and author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party, the acclaimed history of the GOP from the Republican point of view. See www.RepublicanBasics.com for more information.

Republican National Convention: Day 1 - Monday Sept 1

by Shandon Phan’s Convention Dispatch Maryland’s 7^th Congressional District - Delegate, Whip

Source: AsianWeek

We arrived in Minneapolis airport late on Sunday evening and headed straight to the Convention Party.  While waiting in line to take our group picture with the entire Maryland delegation, a friend who works on the campaign stopped by and shared with us some good news.  The most recent Zogby poll, released less than an hour earlier, put McCain two points ahead of Obama nationally.  Everyone was screaming in disbelief and excitement.  What an amazing start for our convention!

But… things never go as planned.  With Hurricane Gustav pushing its way through the Gulf Coast states, Sen. McCain decided to put all planned convention activities on hold and focus our efforts and resources to assist our fellow Americans who are in harm’s way.  President Bush, California Governor Schwarzenegger, Texas Governor Perry who were scheduled to speak today, couldn’t come.

On Monday morning, I joined other APA community, political, and business leaders at a joint event organized by APIA Vote and McCain’s National APA Coalitions.  In addition to many friends whom I was surprised and glad to see there, I met many interesting, accomplished and inspiring leaders and will upload photos on our web site at www.AsianAmericansforMcCain.org.

During the week ahead, the RNC contacted me to serve as a speaker to reach out to community media and they continuously sent reporters my way.  So I spent the rest of the day holding interviews with Saigon Broadcasting & Television Network, Asian American Press, and Taiwan Central News Agency.

In the evening, we ended up having no speakers at all on our first day.  A few delegates were frustrated and unhappy at first, stating that “it’s a normal hurricane.  There is nothing we can do about it. So why postpone our convention, lose our momentum and diminish our morale while the other side is actively campaigning?”  I thought it was a real act of leadership from Sen. McCain who puts the wellbeing of his fellow Americans, his country before his own nomination celebration.  Even if he could not really help the people on the ground, he set the tone for our action, sent the right message of compassion and national unity, inspired as an example and provided spiritual & statistical support to the leaders of those states in leading their people through this natural disaster.  And so, while thousands of anti-war protesters gathered outside looking for ways to cause disruption to our convention, including harassing delegates and causing violence, inside the Xcel Convention Center, our spirit was uplifting and united.

So, without all the glamorous celebrations, we officially started our convention and spent the evening getting the official business of the convention finished.  The highlight of the night was when the First Lady Laura Bush and Future First Lady Cindy McCain came and called for our help and support in assisting the Gulf Coast states facing down Gustav.  So everyone answered the call for help, pulled out their cell phones and made $5 donations via text messages.

Not your typical political convention activity!  And I am both proud and humbled to be a part of this.