Admitting the problem is always the first step in any rehabilitation process. And in the aftermath of Mitt Romney’s defeat in the 2012 presidential election, Republicans across the country were doing just that. Among the GOP’s elected officials, strategists, and activists, there was widespread acknowledgment that the Republican Party suffered from a disease that would not quickly be cured.

Nowhere was this admission clearer than inside the Republican National Committee, where Chairman Reince Priebus appointed a five-person task force—the Growth and Opportunity Project—to identify the party’s foremost problems and explore potential solutions. As this RNC autopsy was underway, we at National Journal conducted our own post-mortem, speaking with several members of that RNC panel, along with dozens more Republicans nationwide. The result was “A 12-Step Program for the Republican Party,” prescribing a road to rehabilitation for the GOP.

More: Republicans Are Celebrating Too Soon - NationalJournal.com