GOP Chief: Republicans 'Screwed Up' After Reagan

That ''we'' includes the last two Republican presidents and the most recent Republican candidate for president.

In ''Right Now: A 12-Step Program for Defeating the Obama Agenda,'' released Monday by Regnery Publishing, Steele says the GOP should acknowledge where ''we most glaringly compromised our principles'' in the past decade and hold its elected officials accountable.

''We must support Republican officials who assert these principles,'' he writes. ''When elected Republicans vote against Republican principles, the voters must withhold their support -- withhold it vigorously and consistently.''

Steele focuses much of the book on familiar GOP denunciations of President Barack Obama's overall policies (''a roadmap to failure''), the $787 billion stimulus bill (''a reckless, wasteful, pork-laden spending spree''), liberal views on manmade global warming (''A threat to life on Earth? Depends on whom you ask'') and other issues.

To regain the public confidence, Steele says the GOP should, among other things, expose the ''reign of error'' inherent in liberal policies, contrast conservative and liberal principles, and highlight the damage caused by Obama's policies while explaining conservative solutions.