"GOP in Deep Trouble" - Frank Lunz

[Toro]

Republican governors met here Wednesday and tried to figure out what went wrong in last week's election.

The Republican Governors Association's two-day meeting included some of the party's rising stars and some of the likeliest candidates for the 2012 presidential election. But the main topic of the annual meeting was the party's losses at the presidential, congressional and state levels, and how the party could be rebuilt. ...

This year was the second political cycle in a row that Republicans experienced a major defeat. They lost the White House, and saw Democrats make broad gains in state capitals and Congress. The governors group was among the hardest hit, with membership falling to 17 from 28 members before the 2006 election. ...

"The Republican Party is going to need a lot more than just a comb-over in my opinion," Gov. Pawlenty said. "Ronald Reagan was president a long time ago."

The Minnesota governor said the party could make a comeback when 36 gubernatorial seats are up for grabs in 2010. Currently, a slight majority of those seats are held by Democrats.

Still, many attendees appeared unsure about how best to regain control of Congress and the White House. Republican pollster Frank Luntz was blunt in his assessment of the 2010 elections, which also include congressional races. "The governors may be OK, but the party is in deep, deep trouble," he said.

In the hallways and bars of the hotel where the meeting was held, two trains of thought appeared to be emerging over the best strategy to pursue.

The first, championed by Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, was that Republicans need to broaden their voter base. This summer, Democrats conducted a huge voter-registration drive that helped bring more supporters to the polls in November. Mr. Crist said that, in Florida, a large number of new Democratic voters helped flip a state that in 2004 had solidly backed Republican President George W. Bush. Another factor affecting the Florida race was the party's loss of Latino voters and other key demographic groups, Mr. Crist said.

"You have to be inclusive, you have to work for a big tent," he said. "That's about as obvious as the nose on your face."

Other attendees pushed for a return to conservative roots. South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford compared the Republican Party to a corporate brand that has become tarnished. His own tenure has been marked by intraparty struggles. In 2004, the Republican-dominated legislature overrode his veto on more than 100 spending bills.

"I think first find the message, and then stick to the knitting," Gov. Sanford said. He cited results of a recent poll showing that only 17% of voters identified Republicans with cutting taxes for the middle class, and suggested the party isn't implementing its tax-cutting mission. ...

Republican Governors Take a Hard Look At How to Rebuild Party After Big Losses - WSJ.com

 

[Vel]

Given that the media is so biased, the only way that I can see the GOP making a big comeback will be for them to find a new way to get their message out. They should start with the little county party headquarters and start networking their way up.

 

[GigiBowman]

Frank Lunz lol

I can never take him seriously again after the whole Republican Primary Fiasco. He's probably looking for a new job since the Republicans probably won't be calling him back for awhile....

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If9EWDB_zK4]YouTube - Penn and Teller Defend Ron Paul vs. Luntz and Fox News[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gACVmH1BYyY]YouTube - Frank Luntz, "It's Not What You Say , It's What They Hear"[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0mS35mqnRE]YouTube - Frank Luntz Issues a Warning to Ron Paul Supporters![/ame]

 

[Skeptik]

How times change. Just four short years ago, we were hearing about this.

 

[dilloduck]

Given that the media is so biased, the only way that I can see the GOP making a big comeback will be for them to find a new way to get their message out. They should start with the little county party headquarters and start networking their way up.

Strongly agree with ya there---but they really can start clean by losing the whole GOP tag.

 

[matty]

Frank Lunz lol

I can never take him seriously again after the whole Republican Primary Fiasco. He's probably looking for a new job since the Republicans probably won't be calling him back for awhile....

YouTube - Penn and Teller Defend Ron Paul vs. Luntz and Fox News

YouTube - Frank Luntz, "It's Not What You Say , It's What They Hear"

YouTube - Frank Luntz Issues a Warning to Ron Paul Supporters!

Pfft.

 

[William Joyce]

The GOP was hijacked by the neocons. Lose them, and we're on a path to healing.

 

[dilloduck]

The GOP was hijacked by the neocons. Lose them, and we're on a path to healing.

yes--it's really that simple !

 

[Vel]

The GOP was hijacked by the neocons. Lose them, and we're on a path to healing.

Has the party truly been hijacked by the neo-cons or has the media simply decreed that the case? If I listen to the media then I have to assume that ALL Republican voters are white protestants whose only goals in life are to overturn Roe.v.Wade and to stop gay marriage. The GOP needs to realize that the above is the prevailing image that MSM has branded them with and find ways to get the real message of Republicanism out. Check out How Obama Got Elected to see how the media skewed the image of the candidates.

 

[RoadVirus]

The GOP was hijacked by the neocons. Lose them, and we're on a path to healing.

Exactly. Get rid of the riff-raff and you'll be fine. Most of them were chucked out in 2006 & the rest a couple weeks ago. Let the healing begin.

 

[Caligirl]

Get rid of the riff raff and adjust to changing demographics, the country is urbanizing and diversifying which at the moment favors democrats.

 

[DavidS]

Given that the media is so biased, the only way that I can see the GOP making a big comeback will be for them to find a new way to get their message out. They should start with the little county party headquarters and start networking their way up.

The liberal media is the cause of the death of the GOP??

What about the Republican controlled congress from 1994 - 2006? What about Bush running the country and winning two elections? What about a majority of this country's governors being Republican?

I'm so sick and tired of hearing about the liberal elite media. The GOP fucked up because it's out of date. Social conservatism is out of date and with this country electing a far left President, social conservatism will continue to die during the next 4 years. Jindal, Romney, Huckabee, Palin - they stand no chance.

 

[DiveCon]

The liberal media is the cause of the death of the GOP??

What about the Republican controlled congress from 1994 - 2006? What about Bush running the country and winning two elections? What about a majority of this country's governors being Republican?

I'm so sick and tired of hearing about the liberal elite media. The GOP fucked up because it's out of date. Social conservatism is out of date and with this country electing a far left President, social conservatism will continue to die during the next 4 years. Jindal, Romney, Huckabee, Palin - they stand no chance.

geee, i remember a few saying that same thing about the democrats a few years back
they were as wrong then as you are now

 

[editec]

Sane Republicans are outnumbered by social conservatives, neo-cons and outright nutters.

Damned shame, too.

The GOP used to be truly a grand old party.

 

[Ravi]

According to the rabid, like dcon, etc, the Cons only need do away with the media and no one will know they've become a xenophobic group that looks down their noses on the poor, the gay, the single and the women.

 

[DiveCon]

Sane Republicans are outnumbered by social conservatives, neo-cons and outright nutters.

Damned shame, too.

The GOP used to be truly a grand old party.

it still is
a lot of republican prematurely wrote off the DNC in the early 2000's, now here you are doing the very same thing to the GOP
these things go in cycles
trust me, the pendulum will swing back

 

[DiveCon]

According to the rabid, like dcon, etc, the Cons only need do away with the media and no one will know they've become a xenophobic group that looks down their noses on the poor, the gay, the single and the women.

still proving what a total moron you are
go away, adults are trying to discuss things

 

[editec]

it still is
a lot of republican prematurely wrote off the DNC in the early 2000's, now here you are doing the very same thing to the GOP
these things go in cycles
trust me, the pendulum will swing back

I'm not writing the GOP off.

Don't you remember my long post describing how the GOP would inevitably rise up from the ashes?

I was merely describing the current state of affairs.

 

[DiveCon]

I'm not writing the GOP off.

Don't you remember my long post describing how the GOP would inevitably rise up from the ashes?

I was merely describing the current state of affairs.

just as the DNC has


i have to admit that so far it looks like Obama might actually try to reach accross the aisle and work with whats left of the GOP
i'm kinda split on that because it could be another case of the bailout thing where they wanted enough of the GOP signed on so they wouldnt have to take a hit on it in the election
but time will tell
and he's there for at least the next 4 years

 

[editec]

just as the DNC has

exactly

i have to admit that so far it looks like Obama might actually try to reach accross the aisle and work with whats left of the GOP

There's still plenty of patriotic Republicans in Congress who truly do want what's best for this nation.

All they hyave to do is marginalize the neo-cons and the social conservatives who've screwed the GOP pooch.