The words they said:

With the Democrats set to take control of the House and the Senate in January, the GOP may not be able to control the national agenda in the way it once did. In the interests of keeping things fair and balanced, we want to do our part to give Republican leaders some bandwidth for getting their ideas out into the public domain. Here goes:

Newt Gingrich: The former House speaker and potential presidential candidate said Monday that the United States may have to revisit the idea of freedom of speech in the context of the war on terrorism. Speaking in New Hampshire, Gingrich said that we may need to apply a "different set of rules" before "we actually lose a city, which I think could happen in the next decade."

Rep. Tom Tancredo: At a gathering of conservative activists in Florida, the Colorado Republican said that Miami has "become a Third World country." "You just pick it up and take it and move it someplace," he said. "You would never know you're in the United States of America. You would certainly say you're in a Third World country.'' Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican who represents Miami in the House, said that Tancredo's remarks were "flat our wrong" and invited him to visit Miami to learn more. A spokesman for Tancredo said he'd take Ros-Lehtinen up on the offer -- provided that it included lodging "at a five-star beachfront resort."

Sen. Elizabeth Dole: The North Carolina senator is on her way out as chairwoman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, but she hopes to help the NRSC retire some of the debt she ran up first. In a fundraising e-mail to supporters, Dole says that the NRSC's unsuccessful efforts to hold on to a Senate majority have left it "buried under an avalanche of post-campaign debt." "I just wish I could say I'm writing today to celebrate a Republican victory -- but as you know, we were beaten by the Democrats in a very difficult election year for Republicans nationwide," Dole says. "But even though we were unable to retain our Senate majority, I believe we can still walk away from this election with our heads held high ... Despite the odds against us, we fought hard in all our U.S. Senate races and still managed to keep the Senate extremely close!"

-- Tim Grieve

Step Away From The Constitution, Mr. Gingrich, And Put Your Hands Where We Can See Them
by Bob Cesca
Men like Mr. Gingrich aren't simply afraid of terrorists, they're afraid of you.