Ten-Point Advice for the Republican Party
The Republican Party is licking its wounds while the big bosses retreat to the strategy rooms to formulate the turnaround, much like they did after Clinton won in 1992. But they’re doing it all wrong, starting with the players. It’s certain path toward self-destruction which will please a lot of Democrats. After all, the more Democrats who are elected into power, the more the presidency becomes a rubber stamp dictatorship.
As an Independent, and certainly not running for office, I happily reject those confining pigeonholes that politicians cannot avoid. As NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, sometimes the Democrats have good ideas, sometimes the republicans have good ideas. I generally lean toward Democrats regarding social issues, and lean toward the Republicans, most strongly, in issues of national security. What’s most essential, is that we maintain checks and balances. With a one-sided government, that’s gone.
I do hope for a Republican resurgence in the 2010 off-year election, otherwise they will have no more voice than a whisper in the wind.
From my perspective, the Republican Party needs to follow some tough advice if they have any hope to regenerate in the future.
1) Dump Dick Cheney. Get him off talk shows, TV sound bites, debates, or another or forum dealing with the party’s future. Whether you like him or not, he’s part of the old republican machine that no one trusts, dating back to the 1970s. Whether deserved or not, his name is mud with the majority of Americans.
2) Obama’s election success can be summed up in a single word: Bush. Thus, Jeb Bush should crawl in a Texas oil hole with bro and his pop when all the 2010 planning goes into effect. He might be a good guy, but the name “Bush” is a guaranteed liability in any future American election.
3) Nobody wants to hear what Sarah Palin has to say. She’s a reminder of what went wrong with John McCain’s campaign. Party leadership should keep her in Wasilla, smiling waving winking attending soccer games like a good mom. Folks in the media rarely pursue her with tough informational questions about international jihad, nuclear warheads, and international commerce, and that’s because she’s a lightweight. Cute yes. Conservative, Yes. But not an asset to the party on a grand scale.
4) The party leadership should publically announce that no radio entertainer is the dominant head of a national party, nor ever will be. Those who cite Rush Limbaugh as the saviour of the Republican Party are bogging the party into the depths of right-wing extremism, the very mantra they need to shed. And even if he’s right a lot of the time, it doesn’t matter. Perception is 99 percent of reality.
5) Get with the changing times and broaden appeal. Study the demographics. The days of Goldwater and Reagan are gone. What once was a nation where 85 percent of the voters were of European descent, today that number has dropped to 70 percent.
6) Republicans should be desperately reaching for attracting the youth, a huge voting block clearly locked into the democratic side.
7) Show that the Republican Party is flexible enough to modify a position. Abortion comes to mind, which— in the international scheme of things — is the least important issue I can think of, yet guides millions of one-issue voters and ill-defines the party in the minds of many. Revise the platform, to exclude restrictions to rape victims, mentally unstable victims, health of the mother.
Revamp the party’s image. People like Hannity and Limbaugh who continually jackhammer terms like “Conservatism” and “Judea-Christian values” tend to be more divisive than inclusive. They sound great, and may be well-intended but it’s the same old broken record. The party needs accomplishments, not adjectives.
9) Politicians should fly commercial whenever possible, attend town hall meetings, reach out to grass roots, and show the American people they are willing to make concessions to improve America.
10) Out with the old, in with the new. Highlight fresh, bright new thinkers, and include minorities, such as Michael Steele and J.D. Watts. New leadership should be cherry-picked from the ranks of governors, who — without a sentatorial/congressional record — are able to distance themselves from the Bush years. Names like Mark Sanford, of South Carolina, Rick Perry of Texas, and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, come to mind.
Republicans can do it. One elder statesman is worthy of consultation, but nothing more than that. Newt Gingrich is probably one of the most astute politicians of the last 30 years, and his wisdom should be sought after.
Obama’s election was as much a passionate statement against the Bush regime, as it was an endorsement for the candidate.
Gosh . . .as a long time pol .. I can say some of your comments are spot on. Others are way off base.
#1. Latest poll info yesterday indicated that Dick Chaney was doing good, in alerting people, even tho he hasn’t been well liked. As he has credibility in the area of terrorism.
#2. TOTALLY agree . . .re Bush
#3. Agree re Sarah Palin, but for different reasons. I think she comes across as too weak, too “flighty” and less serious.
#4. Think you’re way off base on this one. As you have picked up on the Dems spin. The Rep. Party should keep quiet on this issue . . better NOT to offend these people either. If the Rep. party had a strong leader now, who would make him (or her) self visible & vocal it would drown out these talking heads!
#5. As far as broadening appeal . . . I thought that’s what happened in the last presidential election, and that sure didn’t help get McCain elected! You can water down your principals and be “Gumby”, then you have no purpose as a party either.
#6. The reason the youth are traditionally Dem. is they’re right out of liberal colleges and they’ve not yet worked, paid taxes, family issues, etc. They get more conservative as the reality of life hits them. Not sure there is much that will excite them . . . .
#7. Agree w/you partially . . the abortion issue should be dropped. But the importance of it is going to become relivant as we go forward into this gov’t health care wonderland! Because they will be making decisions whether or not to let older people live . . . based on what proceedures they’ll allow them to have that would save their lives, or let them die. It’s a 2-way street . . .
#8. Agree. We need fresh ways of doing things, different attitudes, being on the “offensive” instead of the “defensive” all the time. “Yelling” at people on this issue has NO more benefit than a car salesman yelling at you on a TV ad!
#9. Agree . . . they are ALL (on BOTH sides) out of touch w/the voters!
#10. Agree . . .
AND . . . I would add yet one more caution . . . it really isn’t going to matter what they do.
As before the next election in 2010, the Dem’s will vote thru AMNESTY for all the nearly 20 million illegals in our country, and they will be the “new” decision makers and majority voting block in our country.
Our votes won’t even matter, ever again. And our country won’t be the same either.
So, that’s why I don’t think it matters one bit about these 10 things . . . it’s all about what these “new” voters do, and where they take the country. The Rep. Party will cease to exist!
I respect your opinion but one look at McCain’s campaign will tell you how far off you really are.
Most of what you are saying is that we should become “Dem Light” – that’s simply not going to work.
It’s the “in thing” for Republicans to say that they either don’t listen to Rush Limbaugh or that he’s simply an “entertainer” and therefore not a party voice. That’s falling into the Dem attempt to marginalize him. Why do they hate him so much? Because what he says about them is true and it resonates!
President Obama is providing sufficient reason for the Country to turn away. All we have to do is let him show how he governs, not what he says.
In the May 18th issue of Time, Michael Grunwald composed an interesting and informative article which addressed most of the opinions being expressed here. Good reading if you have the time or interest.
My perception was that Grunwald’s column fell close in line to Marshall’s insight into the Party issues.
Sorry, I can’t agree with any of your points. If you want to win elections you must deliver a message. A message that is different from the socialism being advocated by democrats. Republicans cannot win by being half a democrat. You can’t out left a leftist. The answer is a true principled, conservative message. My question is —- is there anyone in the Republican party interested or capable. I have my doubts.
Frank Fiordalisi
Gosh Marshall! – I’d rather listen to Sarah
Palin, Dick Cheney or even Rush Limbaugh any
day than NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Nice of you to throw Newt Gingrich a bone.
I’d vote for him for POTUS, in a NY minute!
I would prefer a chance to vote for Mitt Romney for POTUS but I see Mitt did not even
rate a mention, in your 10 points of advice.
Well my friend, I don’t see enough in your
10 points that I agree with to rate further
comment, except to agree to disagree in an
amicable manner and of cource stay friends.
But, I will leave you with a tip: Watch CA
on Tuesday May 19th, for a special election that will rock the nation and put TAX REVOLT
on the front page. I’ll hush now, with this
from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
http://hjta.org/proposition-1a/vote-no-proposition-1a-16-billion-tax-increase
We need Cheney to refute the silly accusations the dems are making, nobody else is speaking up. We need Limbaugh and Hannity to be in the forefront of pointing out the bias in the mainstream media, and we certainly need the ideals of the party to be espoused. Who else is doing it?
I like Mike Hukabee who is a common sense guy and has some great ideas. How about Fred Thompson? Common sense guys who speak from the heart. They also need a good support group behind them. Bobby Jindal was less than impressive with his response to Obama. He does not foster a lot of conficence in me. Sorry. We would have been better served if Mitt Romney has given the response.
Whoever handled McCain’s campaign was clueless and needs to be as far away from the fray as possible. That was one of the worst campaigns in presidential campaign history. He lost before the convention…. There are some good ideas out there and all of the mistakes that have been made by the new administration need to be brought to the forefront by someone. It certainly isn’t the main stream media.
I am tired of hearing that all of the problems of this country came from the last eight years. The left has the ear of the media and unless we get the message out there that this is a crock, we are doomed to have Obama for another 4 years. We need to focus our attention on the Pelosi’s and the Reid’s in the house and senate and point out the mistakes of the appointees of this administration. That is the message that needs to be broadcast. Socialism does not work anywhere it has been tried, and that is where we are headed.
Marshall– I agree with you 100 % that the 2008 election was a turning away from Bush politics. The average voter can only be expected to cast his or her vote with a generalized sense of what’s right and wrong. Too many people are aggrieved about the bad economy. So, we might have to wait for things to get back in sync again. I don’t believe that Bush and Cheney are to be blamed for the catastrophic economy that Obama has stepped in to deal with. We, as a nation, have helped in creating the path to destruction. Bush, then, is the natural scapegoat. With that upset state of mind in the country, of course people don’t feel like listening to Dick Cheney pontificate about national issues. Out with the old, in with the new, as you say. Why hasn’t a new charismatic Republican leader emerged? If we get too manufactured, it might appear too phony. So, I accepted the energy and appeal of Sarah Palin. She’s very forthcoming and understands American politics. Rush has a strong radio following and certainly understands the American ethos. One previous Republican candidate has his own TV show and has a lot of charm. Bobby Jindall is a good guy. For me, Dick Cheney consistently exhibits sound. moral reasoning, a quality good government does need. A game plan for change might not work. We need to stay within the boundaries of the Republican spirit also. It is conservatism. Maybe the party can work with the players it currently has–and succeed!