As the dust begins to settle and our emotions start to wane, it’s important that we begin to try and find out why this has happened. Not only did we lose a presidency we should have won by a landslide, but we lost many of the state races that let in some of the most radically left politicians our country has ever seen. After sifting through the great emotional impact this loss has had on all of us, I have realized that it can only be attributed to one thing: We have lost our ability to connect with the people. Several of the GOP’s issues need to reworked in a major way. We have to keep God out of politics.

Listen, I love God. I may not be the holiest person, as many of you know, but I have accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. However, I do not think it is appropriate to use him as a pawn in our political arguments. Take it from a person who has won many debates against liberals who are just waiting for you to pull the religion card: If you use religion, you will lose. We have to become more lenient and we need to adopt many libertarian policies and messages.

My biggest issue is with God and gay marriage. I abstained from voting on the gay marriage amendment in my state, because, though I wholeheartedly agree with equal rights among all people, I just as equally disagree with slapping a Band-aid on a much bigger issue. Approving gay marriage state by state is addressing the symptom, not the disease. The disease is in the tax code. The disease is the government being involved in any union between two people. Many people in the gay community argue that they deserve the same tax breaks as married heterosexual couples. I don’t believe those tax breaks should exist. There should be no monetary incentive to spending the rest of your life with someone (just as there should be no monetary incentive to produce more children). I am a proponent of civil unions in the courts, and ceremonial marriages being left to the churches. This is an argument we have to adopt if we’re going to win the gay marriage debate, and we have to mean it. Our first order of business should be completely rewriting the tax code.

Abortion is another issue that the GOP has serious problems with. We have to stop arguing against abortion and it’s immorality. It’s just simply not working. We have to adopt the Libertarian agenda here, but we have to be able to explain it so liberals can understand. So many people who don’t understand think that overturning Roe v. Wade will ban all abortions. This is a horrible misconception. We have to be champions of the Tenth Amendment. I, and most Libertarians, believe that abortion should be an issue for the states to decide individually. Let’s face it, it’s very unlikely a state would overturn abortion, because it would be financially devastating to the state. But if it did, it is the right of the people to vote with their feet. If the states were able to compete like businesses, the most fiscally and socially responsible businesses would be the most successful and would serve as a guide for other states. Overturning Roe v. Wade will not ban abortions, it will expand freedom.

The biggest issue in the GOP is arguing faith instead of logic. Many, including myself, can understand why Mourdock would get the idea that a child conceived as the result of rape is God’s will. I believe he was sincere in his answer, however, this is not even close to being an appropriate argument for a politician to use in the public sphere. It was political suicide the minute he said it.

We have to stop arguing faith or we will lose. Faith is not logical. It is not rational. It is not comprehensible by most. Our country has become increasingly secular and it is our job to adapt to those changes. Not abandoning faith in our hearts, but arming ourselves with a better weapon than “God says it’s wrong.” Arguing against gay marriage “because it’s in the Bible,” or against abortion “because it’s murder” is always a losing argument. Regrettably, this isn’t 1980 anymore. We have to use our logic and step back from the emotional debate that helped win this election for the other side.

It’s time to take a long, hard look at reality. Obama did not win because of his record. The GOP lost because of its inability to frame the argument in a way that is palatable to Independents and Libertarians. We have to reshape the debate, or we will continue to lose elections.