Powell urges Republicans to broaden their appeal

By Charles Abbott

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican Party needs to broaden its base rather than move farther to the political right to make gains against President Barack Obama's Democrats, former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday.

"Let's debate the future of the party. And let's let all the segments of the party come in," Powell, a Republican who served in President George W. Bush's Cabinet but endorsed Obama last year, told CBS's "Face the Nation."

"And, if we don't do that, if we don't reach out more, the party is going to be sitting on a very, very narrow base. You can only do two things with a base. You can sit on it and watch the world go by, or you can build on the base," Powell added.

Powell's comments represent the latest salvo in an ongoing battle over the future of the Republican Party in the aftermath of Obama's ascent to power following the presidency of the unpopular Bush. Party moderates like Powell increasingly have found themselves marginalized by party conservatives.

Democrats control Congress and the White House. Leading Republicans are searching for a formula to return to power.

"Are we simply moving further to the right, and by so doing opening up the right-of-center and the center to be taken over by independents and to be taken over by Democrats?" Powell asked.

Under fire from conservatives for backing Obama over Republican nominee John McCain in last year's presidential election, Powell rejected calls to leave the party.

Former Vice President Richard Cheney, who butted heads with Powell often during the Bush administration, said recently, "I think my take on it was Colin had already left the party."