Republicans are getting advice from everyone on how to become more competitive. Perhaps they should listen to some of their rising stars who are looking to reform the party beyond tweaking the message or proposing specific policy changes.
Washington Times:
The Republican party’s young leaders on Sunday continued to distance themselves from defeated presidential candidate Mitt Romney and ramped up the effort to paint the GOP in a new light.
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, chair of the Republican Governors Association, again repudiated Mr. Romney’s recent comments that he was unsuccessful in the Nov. 6 election because of “gifts” from the Obama administration to certain blocs of voters.
“I absolutely reject what he said. … You don’t start [to reach out to to voters] by insulting people, saying their votes were bought,” Mr. Jindal said.
Mr. Jindal appeared on the program with another popular rising star in the party, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, vice chairman of the RGA. The duo is helping to lead the effort to rebrand the GOP, which continues to lose ground among minority, young and female voters. Each of those groups went for President Obama in the election by wide margins.
While not explicitly saying so, Mr. Jindal implied that Mr. Romney reinforced the perception that the Republican party is the voice of corporate CEOs and of the wealthy, and did not seem surprised that most minority voters and women chose to cast ballots for the president.
“We have to make it very clear: We’re not the party of big, of big business, big banks, big Wall Street, big bailouts. … We’re not the party trying to protect the rich. They can protect themselves. We’re the party that wants growth,” he said.
Any reform must start by understanding the problems. Jindal and Walker are making a lot of sense in their post-election critiques:
“We need to figure out what we did right and what we did wrong, how we can improve our tone, our message, our technology, our turnout — all the things that are required to win elections,” McDonnell said. “We are disappointed, but we are not discouraged.”
With polls in hand and shifting demographic trends in mind, these Republicans are looking at how best to position the party to make inroads with growing numbers of Hispanic, black and young voters who overwhelmingly voted Democratic last week. The Republicans were still smarting over constant criticism of Romney from Obama and Vice President Joe Biden — and what they saw as Romney’s often ineffective response.
“They spent all their time making Mitt Romney unacceptable and making him out to be someone who was untrustworthy and unacceptable to enough of the American people — and it worked,” Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad said in an interview.
In the hallways at the conference, the governors and their top advisers uniformly blamed Romney’s loss on an uneven communications strategy. They said Romney allowed himself to be branded a corporate raider who put the interests of the wealthy above those of middle-income voters.
“We didn’t have effective means by which to counter the attacks the Obama-Biden campaign took against Mitt Romney and his team,” Walker said. “I just don’t think you can let that go unanswered.”
Time and again, the governors pointed to Obama attacks that settled into voters’ minds.
[...]
Jindal, however, attributed Romney’s loss to a lack of “a specific vision that connected with the American people.”
“His campaign was largely about his biography and his experience,” Jindal said. “But time and time again, biography and experience is not enough to win an election. You have to have a vision, you have to connect your policies to the aspirations of the American people. I don’t think the campaign did that and as a result, this became a contest between personalities and — you know what? — Chicago won that.”
There is currently a generational divide in the Republican party, with younger members seeing the opportunity in Romney’s loss as a means to reform the party’s messaging apparatus to include more sophisticated social media outreach, while dealing with policy specifics that would distance the party from the establishment’s reliance on “Country Club Republicans” and what they perceive as a less than ideologically coherent program that promotes “compassionate conservatism” instead of the genuine article.
Pro-free market, pro-growth, and pro-family policies offered from a strong conservative viewpoint is the key say many of these younger party members.
Romney’s “pro-growth” message was doomed by a lack of specifics, allowing Obama to paint his ideas as warmed over George Bush policies. Whether new blood is necessary to revitalize that message or whether a youth movement in the GOP will make the party competitive again remains to be seen.
not if Boehner is speaker again.
If he is, then they aren’t serious, despite what they will certainly claim. Boehner is the symbol of a party of pitiful failures. Any party that couldn’t defeat the marxists in 2012 doesn’t deserve to exist, no matter re-elect the same useless leader it has had for years.
I’m waiting for the Freedom Party to emerge. At least that would stand for something in the face of the opposite.
The rule of law society–where things occur or don’t because a law says they should or should not, not because someone in a position of power and influence says they should or should not.
Not a CEO, and not a community activist. But the law. Made by the people, in Congress assembled, and in their individual state legislatures, and in their counties and towns.
Codicil: The rule of law in a society with a restrained government–where there are limits to what the people or those in power can impose via the law. The Anglo-American variant of the Roman framework.
Boehner is OK by me. His job is nearly impossible, given the obstructionist Democratic senate that can’t even pass a budget, and would not impeach Obama for any conceivable reason.
Romney was an empty suit from the very beginning, is his real problem. He rolled craps when he hired his campaign staff. OTOH, even that staff realized Romney was a weak, weak candidate and perhaps they did the best they could with him. But they still messed up the demographics, and ORCA.
Romney needs to take Karl Rove and go away forever.
Some of the Republican “young guns” look pretty good, but none seems eager to step up to the national level. They need to start attending their Toastmaster sessions or something, dry-run an entire primary season, start a shadow government. Maybe attend some Tony Robbins sessions.
Romney spoke the truth about Obama bearing gifts. If the “young guns” refuse to see that, and if they insist on pandering–as in caving in on abortion, or offering amnesty to illegal immigrants–then the GOP really is doomed.
The Republicans need to be much more firm with conservative principles. If America can be redeemed, then that is the only way to go. Jindal is right, though, that the GOP needs to strongly appeal to more than “corporate CEO’s and the wealthy.” For instance, its about time that Republicans did better at pointing out and fighting the corrupt crony capitalism that predominates.
Romney was indeed and empty suit but he was right about votes being bought. Obama not only handed out millions of free phones but also promised gimme groups many things: free college, ability to ride on the parent’s insurance until the mid-20s, free birth control, free this, free that, special treatment here, etc.
The “Young Guns” are no different from the “Old Fools” running the party now. They all want to take the party left and try to out Democrat the Democrats. Didn’t the old guard figure out that didn’t work under both Clinton and Bush? All they did was grow government and turn the core against them. What is it they say about sticking your hand in fire over and over again and expecting a different outcome?
Eventually the Democrats and RINOs will manage to collapse the economy. If the Young Guns want to make gains, they should stay out of that gang and prove they ran on a platform of trying to head that off. It still might not gain them power, but if it doesn’t, then perhaps the time of the US is over like the great nations that came before.
Until this: http://www.fox19.com/story/19423487/reality-check-rnc-rule-change-starting-a-republican-civil-war is dealt with conservatism by anyone in the GOP (Stupid Party) WILL NOT HAPPEN. It’s RINOpalooza from here on out.
“Can GOP’s ‘Young Guns’ Revitalize the Party?”
If their platforms and rhetoric are that of the Tea Party evangelical social movement, the answer is — NO! That is, in terms of national general elections.
Doesn’t matter if its Young Guns, Big Guns ( or soon under Odoofus, no guns) without a media plan — now, today—- to fight the 15-18% advantage Democrats have with the naked, lying, treasonous media there is no hope for the GOP.
Romneys message? He could have brought Jesus Christ, Allah and even FDR himself—- if they have an R after their name, they are doomed.
Get Stepahoupolos off the air— for good. As Pat Caddell called him a political hack and should not be anywhere near a camera.
Caddell is a Democrat. First time I agree with one.
“Fool me once, shame on me (McCain-2008). Fool me twice, shame on you (Romney-2012).”
Christie, Jindal , Rubio that’s just plain “foolin’ around.” What happened in both 2008 and 2012 is “the white voter stayed home.” PERIOD!!!
Why did the white voter stay home and Black, Hispanic and Asian voter turnout by the droves???? Because the white voter didn’t have a “clear cut” choice (and social media).
What’s the choice for white voters? After two defeats (2008/2012) and one victory in 2010…seems the path is pretty clear. A candidate and party that is just right of center. Continuing on a path, just left of center…is guaranteed to further GOP’s ignonimity, irrelevance and “kiss of death.”
Voters in 2012 didn’t see any difference between Romney and Obama…why change? Keep the one you got(Obama)!!!! Added to this… chicago-style thuggery. So, white voters stayed home and said, what’s the difference?
Center-left has MSM, social media (Harper Reed who’s responsible for organizing and sucessfully using -Dashboard, The Call Tool, Facebook Blaster, PeopleMatcher and Nazwhal and a nerdy group of techies), Wall Street and Hollywood as their “cash-box,” and willing messengers. GOP,moving to and trying “center-left” has pretty slim pickin’s.
So, GOP will have to marshall a:
1) “new coalition” as their base, because center-left has “cherry picked” MSM, social media, Wall Street and Hollywood as their base along with Black, Hispanic and Asians.
2)start with a new “ground-game” (preferably today) Center-right Religious, education, financial and yes even government personnel (mostly white voters in these sectors)
2014 is right around the corner as is 2016…if the GOP fails to “find their way,” USA is destined for the trash heap. Pray. Amen.
If Americans love their country, love Xmas and all its heritage, 2014, 2016 will define America and Americans, as did 2010.