The following is somethign I wrote in 2008- I'm impressed by what I got right and a bit embarassed by what I got wrong. But here it is...
The GOP has just taken two devastating defeats on the national level that has reduced it from a majority to a minority party. The question becomes, how do they bring it back?
Here are six steps it should take.
1) Reclaim the Mantle of Competency- The GOP developed a reputation as a party that could get things done. Sadly, this has been largely damaged by President Bush. Now, some of this criticism is completely unfair, but his inability to manage the media is just as bad or worse than the mistakes actually made. Iraq, Katrina, even the recent having to revoke a pardon after it was issued, all give the impression of people who just don't know what they are doing.
The good news here is that after Jan. 21st, all bad news belongs to Obama. The other good news is that we have a lot of governorships where the states can be labs for innovation and creative conservative solutions to problems.
2) Reach out to Hispanics- As much as some regular TH supporters are horrified by the concept, Hispanics are the fastest growing demographic in the US today. Sadly, it is a demographic the GOP is losing and shouldn't be. Hispanics tend to be more socially conservative than the country as a whole, and embrace the notion of hard work and enterprise. Unfortunately, by listening to the Tom Tancredos of the world, the GOP has done a fine job of turning them off. They know darn well that their cousin Pedro isn't a terrorist, or a criminal, he's just a guy who couldn't wait around for an entry visa to take care of his family.
The bad news is that the GOP seems incapable of abandoning the Tancredo line, even though every candidate who embraced it in the primaries failed. The good news is that by 2012, Obama will have probably passed an immigration reform package more liberal than McCain-Kennedy.
3) Stop putting social issues in religious terms- The GOP won the culture wars in the 1980's simply by standing up for the right things. They are now losing them because they are coming off as trying to impose religion on people who have no use for it. The crescendo of this was when Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee decided to play a few rounds of "My God can beat up your God" in the primaries. The voters rejected that and nominated John McCain.
There are genuine arguments to be made on social issues that can be made without invoking religion, which should always be a private matter of conscience.
4) Lose the slavish devotion to Corporate Greed - What absolutely amazes me is that there are some conservatives who think that Corporate America can do no wrong, even when they drive the economy into the ditch. A Republican President, Herbert Hoover, once said, "The problem with Capitalism is Capitalists- they're too damned greedy." We have certainly seen that of late, with decades of union busting, downsizing, outsourcing and other attacks on the middle class goose that laid the golden eggs. What is the first demand for the Auto Industry bailout (a loan, actually). Those UAW members have to give up their middle class lifestyle.
Obama's socialism will ultimately fail, but what has made it so attractive is that capitalism has stopped benefiting Joe Sixpack.
5) Walk the Walk- Another thing that has killed the GOP in recent years is that they've tolerated so many sleazy characters in their ranks. You can't be the party of "family values", and then be the party of Tim Foley or Larry Craig. You can't be the party of honesty and tolerate a character like Ted Stevens. The problem with these guys is not that they take down themselves, but take down a few other honest guys in the process because people figure they are all crooks.
Is it fair? Well, you make your bed, you sleep in it. Eliot Spitzer didn't hurt the Democrats because no one holds them to a standard. Therefore, the damage he did was limited to himself. The GOP claims to be better so it has to be better.
6) Quit conceding winnable races - You can't win the race if you don't show up. Having grown up in Illinois, I have slowly watched the state GOP agree to leave certain areas (mostly Chicago) unchallenged. For instance, in the Third Congressional District, the 2006 Republican primary was to vote for the birthday clown so the neo-Nazi wouldn't get the nomination. Now the 3rd Congressional district is largely middle class and might be amennable to a Republican nominee, if one ever came up to fight. However, from 1992 to 2004, it was represented by William Lipinski, a guy famous for being a "Reagan Democrat". So the State GOP gave him a pass, year after year. He handed it off to his son, Dan, in 2004. (Only in Chicago do you have hereditary titles, it seems.)
The GOP has just taken two devastating defeats on the national level that has reduced it from a majority to a minority party. The question becomes, how do they bring it back?
Here are six steps it should take.
1) Reclaim the Mantle of Competency- The GOP developed a reputation as a party that could get things done. Sadly, this has been largely damaged by President Bush. Now, some of this criticism is completely unfair, but his inability to manage the media is just as bad or worse than the mistakes actually made. Iraq, Katrina, even the recent having to revoke a pardon after it was issued, all give the impression of people who just don't know what they are doing.
The good news here is that after Jan. 21st, all bad news belongs to Obama. The other good news is that we have a lot of governorships where the states can be labs for innovation and creative conservative solutions to problems.
2) Reach out to Hispanics- As much as some regular TH supporters are horrified by the concept, Hispanics are the fastest growing demographic in the US today. Sadly, it is a demographic the GOP is losing and shouldn't be. Hispanics tend to be more socially conservative than the country as a whole, and embrace the notion of hard work and enterprise. Unfortunately, by listening to the Tom Tancredos of the world, the GOP has done a fine job of turning them off. They know darn well that their cousin Pedro isn't a terrorist, or a criminal, he's just a guy who couldn't wait around for an entry visa to take care of his family.
The bad news is that the GOP seems incapable of abandoning the Tancredo line, even though every candidate who embraced it in the primaries failed. The good news is that by 2012, Obama will have probably passed an immigration reform package more liberal than McCain-Kennedy.
3) Stop putting social issues in religious terms- The GOP won the culture wars in the 1980's simply by standing up for the right things. They are now losing them because they are coming off as trying to impose religion on people who have no use for it. The crescendo of this was when Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee decided to play a few rounds of "My God can beat up your God" in the primaries. The voters rejected that and nominated John McCain.
There are genuine arguments to be made on social issues that can be made without invoking religion, which should always be a private matter of conscience.
4) Lose the slavish devotion to Corporate Greed - What absolutely amazes me is that there are some conservatives who think that Corporate America can do no wrong, even when they drive the economy into the ditch. A Republican President, Herbert Hoover, once said, "The problem with Capitalism is Capitalists- they're too damned greedy." We have certainly seen that of late, with decades of union busting, downsizing, outsourcing and other attacks on the middle class goose that laid the golden eggs. What is the first demand for the Auto Industry bailout (a loan, actually). Those UAW members have to give up their middle class lifestyle.
Obama's socialism will ultimately fail, but what has made it so attractive is that capitalism has stopped benefiting Joe Sixpack.
5) Walk the Walk- Another thing that has killed the GOP in recent years is that they've tolerated so many sleazy characters in their ranks. You can't be the party of "family values", and then be the party of Tim Foley or Larry Craig. You can't be the party of honesty and tolerate a character like Ted Stevens. The problem with these guys is not that they take down themselves, but take down a few other honest guys in the process because people figure they are all crooks.
Is it fair? Well, you make your bed, you sleep in it. Eliot Spitzer didn't hurt the Democrats because no one holds them to a standard. Therefore, the damage he did was limited to himself. The GOP claims to be better so it has to be better.
6) Quit conceding winnable races - You can't win the race if you don't show up. Having grown up in Illinois, I have slowly watched the state GOP agree to leave certain areas (mostly Chicago) unchallenged. For instance, in the Third Congressional District, the 2006 Republican primary was to vote for the birthday clown so the neo-Nazi wouldn't get the nomination. Now the 3rd Congressional district is largely middle class and might be amennable to a Republican nominee, if one ever came up to fight. However, from 1992 to 2004, it was represented by William Lipinski, a guy famous for being a "Reagan Democrat". So the State GOP gave him a pass, year after year. He handed it off to his son, Dan, in 2004. (Only in Chicago do you have hereditary titles, it seems.)
