How would YOU like to see the GOP change?

I keep poking at this question because it seems beyond dispute that the Republican Party has backed out onto a very creaky plank.

Sharks are circling, especially here in New York state.

If this election spins out of control even a few more degrees, the GOP’s meltdown could make Wall Street’s turbulence look downright placid.

Some Republicans are calling for some introspection. Former National Review scribe Christopher Buckley put it this way during an appearance on the Daily Show:

“I didn’t leave the Republican Party, the Republican Party left me. My hope after November 4th is that there’s going to be some serious soul-searching in those quarters. There probably won’t be, but it seemed like a thoughtful thing to say.”

Conservative Republicans are pushing back against the notion that the party needs to make substantial changes.

Former Washington Times editor Tony Blankley wrote a column this week arguing that there are only two types of Republicans: right-wing conservatives, and “me-too” Democrats.

“I certainly will do what I can to make it a big-tent conservative movement. But just as it does in every great cause, one question has to be answered correctly: Whose side are you on, comrade?”

I think Blankley’s wrong. I think the GOP had a long and politically successful history before the rise of the Goldwater-Gingrich-Palin wing of the party.

And as I’ve written before, I think the Republican movement is essential to American democracy.

So here’s a question for blog readers: How can the GOP become a better, more appealing movement — one that can climb back into favor in New York state and around the US?

Is the future Sarah Palin? Colin Powell? What are the big new ideas — or the old ideas that should be jettisoned? Post your thoughts.