Preston on Politics: GOP's eternal flame burns outside D.C.

[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/01/29/preston.gop/art.capitolday.gi.jpg caption=" Democrats control the Senate by a 58- to 41-seat margin over Republicans."]WASHINGTON (CNN) - The only bright spot in the nation's capital for Republicans these days seems to be a flame that burns 24 hours a day in the courtyard at the campaign headquarters for Republican senators.

The Eternal Flame of Freedom is near the National Republican Victory Monument, which commemorates the 1994 "Republican Revolution," when the GOP wrested control of Congress out of Democratic hands.

Even in the cold, snowy days of January, the flame blazes as a beacon of hope for some and as a memory of the days when Republicans were in power and called the shots in Washington.

Now, the GOP is taking orders from Democrats and doing a lot of soul-searching as it tries to right itself and return the party to its glory days.

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