The following is a list of resolutions for the GOP in 2013, which was posted at the website Independent Journal Review. Apparently, a lot of people find these recommendations hard to swallow:
1. Unify
Ronald Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment: “Thou shalt speak no evil of another Republican.” The Democrat Party never has a problem getting unified support or opposition to a bill in public. Hammer out your differences before bringing up votes.
2. Diversify
The 2012 RNC had a lot of minority speakers who are rising stars in the party. Keep that trend going. The more advocates for liberty in the Republican party who can connect with people of diverse backgrounds, the better.
3. Shelve the Social Issues
The Democrat Party dines out on Republicans falling into the trap of trying to legislate social policy. The principle of equal protection should be applied, and social issues should be argued about only at the state level, and that doesn’t include candidates for Congress. Republicans should make it a point that they will not seek to implement social issues legislation at the national level (and they shouldn’t).
4. Fresh Faces
We need young, vibrant and enthusiastic speakers in the party, who are passionately opposed to statism. Vocal, intelligent and principled critics of the social welfare state like Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, and Rand Paul are vital to a party resurgence.
5. Don’t Preach to the Choir
FoxNews is probably the only conservative TV network, so this isn’t a knock on that channel. But basically, only conservatives watch Fox News. The GOP has to go to where moderates are, even if that means confronting hostile interviewers.
6. Forget Perfection
The constant nitpicking about every candidate has got to stop. Do Democrats care about every single issue? They put inept politicians in office on a regular basis, simply for the reason that they aren’t Republicans. Meanwhile, registered GOP voters couldn’t be bothered to get off the couch on November 6th to vote for Romney.
7. New Leadership
Speaker Boehner may mean well, but he hasn’t been very effective opposing Democrats in Congress. The leadership needs to change it up or be replaced by those who are serious about cutting spending and explaining why they want to do so. The House has the power of the purse, after all, and the GOP’s leaders need to learn how to leverage the people’s branch of government.
8. Get Smart
The Republican Party constantly engages in populist politics when it is completely unnecessary. In order to grab hold of the moderates and lock them up, the GOP needs to be seen as smart and mature, while the Democrats need to be looked upon as childish, reckless name-callers. This shouldn’t be that hard to do against a party whose only solution to every problem is to raise taxes and spend trillions of dollars America doesn’t have. Debt is dumb. Start making that case.
Unless a broad coalition like the tea party, which actually did shelve social issues in 2010, arises to unite against big government — we’re going to see a repeat of 2012. The political fight has to be treated like a long, cultural battle for the heart of the country, not like a one-term election proposition, which the right just lost.
Instead of learning its lesson, the GOP electorate thinks it needs to push back harder, when it should be recruiting more people into its ranks. Don’t take on this image of pushing back too hard, even as we seek to fight the left tooth and nail, but instead entice people into the party.
Stop trying to fight on all parts of the political terrain, instead of picking the most important one or two battles, and making a stand there. Obstinacy on social issues won’t mean much when the central government is running 90% of the economy. Pick debt, free speech, and gun control, and win on those issues. Forget the other stuff at the national level, or suffer ruin.
Ultimately, for the GOP to rebrand successfully, it has to be seen as the mature and reasonable party, and the Democrats need to be cast as childish, reckless name-callers.
Just a friendly word of advice from someone who was very active in the tea party and in the successful 2010 Congressional elections. I’m fiercely against abortion (not for religious reasons), gun control, more spending, tax increases, and the social welfare state. But this isn’t about my personal views, this is about preserving and expanding liberty.
H/T Independent Journal Review
Do you agree or disagree with this list? Comment below.
Love it, Kyle, can I add another?
‘Get Vocal’ How about getting in front of the of the ‘other’ & making very public specificaly “What” you are doing or offering to reach an agreement (you know, like dem is doin’) “we’ve offered several idea” is NOT an answer. “THIS is what we’ve done”carries alot more weight while taking steam out of their rollers.
And hire a PR Team if need. We did not elect you to be a door mat for the opposition, anyone can do that.