Reince Preibus and the RNC have come out with a report criticizing the GOP loss in the 2012 elections and proposing a new model for victory going forward. Fortunately for them, the media has a short memory--because they could have lifted this document straight out of the Michael Steele 2009 report on the 2008 loss and the RNC plan for victory in 2010.
We may laugh at their plan, but we do so at our own peril.
This message that they are now promoting won them the off-year election in 2010.
Let's compare the Preibus report with the Steele report. The similarities really are eerie.
According the the new report, the RNC believes that the problem is messaging, and the fact that the GOP looks like a party of "stuffy old men."
The party has a major messaging problem, and many view the GOP as a group of “stuffy old men,” an entity at which “young voters are increasingly rolling their eyes,” and minorities “wrongly think Republicans do not like them.”
And what did Steele say was the problem, in 2009?
“Where we have fallen down in delivering a message is in having something to say, particularly to young people and moms of all shapes - soccer moms, hockey moms,” he said...
Another problem? Technology and getting out the message. The Republicans, according to Preibus, have fallen behind--
we were behind in both data and digital;
And how did Steele see it?
The RNC’s first black chairman will “surprise everyone” when updating the party’s image using the Internet and advertisements on radio, on television and in print, he told The Washington Times.
As far as solutions, go, I don't see much difference there either. There are two overarching ideas. The first is to be more "cool"--
Priebus--
The GOP wants a Beyonce of its own, and urges the creation of a “Celebrity Task Force” to host events for the RNC to attract younger voters. It also suggests GOP leaders participate in interview on programs like “The Daily Show,” The “Colbert Report” “MTV” and magazines like “People” and “Us Weekly.”
Steele--
Newly elected Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele plans an “off the hook” public relations offensive to attract younger voters, especially blacks and Hispanics, by applying the party’s principles to “urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”
The second is to be more responsive--
Preibus--
Their goals include “talking about our party, talking about our brand, talking about what we believe in, going to community events, going to swearing-in ceremonies, being a part of the community on an ongoing basis…to make the case for our party and our candidates,” Priebus said on CBS’ Face The Nation. That, he said, is as opposed to just parachuting in during the height of campaign season.
And Steele--
”My goal is to listen and to share, when appropriate, insights,” Mr. Steele said. “I think I can be helpful from a political grass-roots and messaging perspective. … I don’t plan to dictate policy under any circumstance. What I can do is tell them how the party base feels about the policies they will have to confront, like the stimulus bill.”
There is something else that is not said in these reports, something that was as true in 2013 as it was in 2009. The RNC believes that if they manage to keep down the crazy, get off of social issues, talk only about freedom and taxes and jobs and deficits, they will have a straight shot at 2014.
They decide to "rebrand," present "new faces," appeal to the young and women and minorities. That was Michael Steele's whole push.
Under the surface, however, now just as in 2009, they are planning with the help of huge donors to get rid of universal health care, women's rights, voting rights and a whole host of other things. It is only after they win that they start talking about voter suppression and transvaginal ultrasounds and defunding Planned Parenthood.
We can't let them get away with this charade one more time.
All quotes for the Preibus report come from MSNBC, dated today, March 18, 2013 and can be found at the following link--
http://tv.msnbc.com/...
All quotes from Michael Steele's 2009 report and plan come from an interview with him published in the Washington Times in February of the same year, found at
http://www.washingtontimes.com/...