It's all the buzz of Punditville -- The Republican Post-Mortem Report.
This time it's gonna be different. This time the R's are going to get their "stuffy old" ducks in a row!
The Priebus has spoken!
Well, OK then. They got my attention. Maybe they'll get yours too.
Here's a whiz-bang browse the report on-line, new-fangled page:
RNC report 2013: Growth and opportunity project
Here's the plain old-fashsioned pdf of the Priebus Re-Branding plan ... just jump the hump ... (Psst! make sure the R's aren't looking ...)
Check out some of the ironic, introspective Brand-R low-lights ... Can anyone say Duh!
Growth & Opportunity Project (pdf)
[pg 5]
The Republican Party needs to stop talking to itself. We have become expert in how to provide ideological reinforcement to like-minded people, but devastatingly we have lost the ability to be persuasive with, or welcoming to, those who do not agree with us on every issue.
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1. Some People Say, “Republicans Don’t Care” [pg 5]
[...]
Asked to describe Republicans, they said that the Party is “scary,” “narrow minded,” and “out of touch” and that we were a Party of “stuffy old men.” This is consistent with the findings of other post-election surveys.
Recommendations:
1. The Grand Old Party should be synonymous with the name “Growth and Opportunity Party.”
2. The Republican Party needs to stop talking to itself [like Grandpa Simpson]. We have become expert in how to provide ideological reinforcement to like-minded people, but devastatingly we have lost the ability to be persuasive with, or welcoming to, those who do not agree with us on every issue.
3. It is time for Republicans on the federal level to learn from successful Republicans on the state level. It is time to smartly change course, modernize the Party, and learn once again how to appeal to more people, including those who share some but not all of our conservative principles.
4. The perception that the GOP does not care about people is doing great harm to the Party and its candidates on the federal level, especially in presidential years. It is a major deficiency that must be addressed.
5. We need to do a better job connecting people to our policies. Our ideas can sound distant and removed from people’s lives. Instead of connecting with voters’ concerns, we too often sound like bookkeepers.
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2. America Looks Different [pg 7]
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If Hispanic Americans perceive that a GOP nominee or candidate does not want them in the United States (i.e. self-deportation), they will not pay attention to our next sentence. It does not matter what we say about education, jobs or the economy; if Hispanics think we do not want them here, they will close their ears to our policies.
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Younger voters are increasingly put off by the GOP. A post-election survey of voters ages 18-29 in the battleground states of Virginia, Ohio, Florida, and Colorado found that Republicans have an almost 1:2 favorable/unfavorable rating. Democrats have an almost 2:1 favorable rating.[3]
For the GOP to appeal to younger voters, we do not have to agree on every issue, but we do need to make sure young people do not see the Party as totally intolerant of alternative points of view.
[...]
If our Party is not welcoming and inclusive, young people and increasingly other voters will continue to tune us out.
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Recommendations:
1. If we want ethnic minority voters to support Republicans, we have to engage them, and show our sincerity.
2. As stated above, we are not a policy committee, but among the steps Republicans take in the Hispanic community and beyond we must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform. If we do not, our Party’s appeal will continue to shrink to its core constituencies only. [...]
3. When it comes to social issues, the Party must in fact and deed be inclusive and welcoming. If we are not, we will limit our ability to attract young people and others, including many women, who agree with us on some but not all issues.
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5. Women [pg 19]
The RNC must improve its efforts to include female voters and promote women to leadership ranks within the committee. Additionally, when developing our Party’s message, women need to be part of this process to represent some of the unique concerns that female voters may have. There is growing unrest within the community of Republican women frustrated by the Party’s negative image among women, and the women who participated in our listening sessions contributed many constructive ideas of ways to improve our brand with women throughout the country and grow the ranks of influential female voices in the Republican Party.
Recommendations:
1. Communicating, organizing, and winning the women’s vote should be part of all activities that the RNC undertakes. Women are not a “coalition.” They represent more than half the voting population in the country, and our inability to win their votes is losing us elections.
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2. The RNC should implement training programs for messaging, communications, and recruiting that address the best ways to communicate with women. According to the liberal group Center for American Progress, the No. 2 issue for female voters this election was “a candidate who will fight for them.” Our candidates, spokespeople and staff need to use language that addresses concerns that are on women’s minds in order to let them know we are fighting for them.
3. The RNC should develop a surrogate list of women based upon areas of policy and political expertise. The media affairs team at the RNC should be focused on booking more women on TV on behalf of the party and be given metrics to ensure that we aren’t just using the same old talking heads. This list should not be limited to outstanding national surrogates such as Governors Nikki Haley and Susana Martinez, Senator Kelly Ayotte, and Congresswomen Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Marsha Blackburn (among many other excellent surrogates), but should also include mayors, county officials, and state legislators.
[...]
OK then. I guess the Romney "binders full women" --
was last year's news.
What are the odds they'll pull off even half of The Priebus wants?
And if even the quacking old-ducks party, had it in them to want to to change, to be more inclusive and open-minded,
-- THEY DON'T have it in them, to actually pull off the change ... to actually keep on "pretending to care" for any extended period of time. See: "filibuster promises." ... Rinse. Apply. Repeat.