Future of the GOP

There are many things in American history about which the Republican Party can be proud, among which are: Lincoln freed the slaves and saved the Union; Theodore Roosevelt busted trusts, carried a Big Stick and established the National Park system; Eisenhower helped to establish the post-war security structures that won the Cold War, ended our involvement in Korea and started the interstate highway system; Reagan revitalized the American economy, brought low the Soviet Empire and reinvigorated the American spirit.

These are but a few of the many positive accomplishments attributable to Republican policies and Republican presidents. Lately, however, there has been a lot of soul-searching after Republicans at both the national level and in Iowa fared poorly in recent elections.

This should be the case. Voters aren’t buying our product. After all, Republicans’ general strength in the mind of the public is fiscal discipline and national security. If Republicans underperform on these two fronts – if they begin to act and spend like liberal Democrats – why shouldn’t the public want the real thing and vote for Democrats? The 2006 elections should have been a wake-up call for us when no incumbent Republican senator was re-elected.

Simply put, Republicans failed to live up to the expectations of the voting public, and the consequence of that failure has been that the public has bought Democratic policies that have been calibrated as an alternative. This strategy has so far been a successful one for Democrats, but soon we’ll learn whether or not their strategy and policies survive without President Bush as their foil.

A Google search for “the future of the Republican Party” returns 10,500,000 hits. Given this, it may be folly to think that I can add anything to this discussion, but it seems to me that if we Republicans want future success, we should examine elements of our past successes and apply them to today’s challenges.

First, every policy prescription that Republicans advocate should reflect the first principles that naturally flow from the Constitution, the underlying philosophy of our party and traditional American values of civility, accountability, hard work and fair play.

Second, we must not be the party of “no.” Republicans need to advance positive, real-life solutions to the most vexing issues of the day. When Democrats offer bad policies – and they do – we must show the public how our ideas and solutions are superior rather than shout “No!” from the sidelines.

Third, we need to stop our fixation on repairing the Republican Party brand and focus instead on improving life in America. By offering better solutions for the problems we face as Iowans and Americans, and communicating them in an effective and compelling way, voters will naturally gravitate to us. Our better solutions will attract not only Republicans, but also Independents and Democrats looking for a better way.

This was the magic of Reagan. In nearly every speech he gave, he appealed not to the narrow concerns of Republicans, but rather he communicated to all Americans. He encapsulated his message within American traditions, values and language that resonated with all our citizens. Reagan famously said that he would rather get 80 percent of what he wanted than to go over a cliff with his flag flying.

Fourth, let’s stipulate that we have the angry white guy vote. If we don’t have them, we’ll fail, but we cannot grow a sustained governing majority with this segment of voter alone. We need to build on that core group. We need to be inclusive. By inclusiveness, I don’t mean that five white guys in their 50s or 60s meet to decide how to approach an issue and then call some minorities, women and young people they know to sell them on the policy. By inclusiveness, I mean that minorities, women and young people need to have a place at the table and a role in designing Republican policies. This is how we will build a governing majority.

Finally, we must hold government accountable to the citizens it serves. Voters are looking for honesty and accountability. Republicans need to have the strength to tell the truth about the problems we face, even if it is our policies that have caused the problem, and tackle them directly with workable solutions on behalf of our citizens. Republicans have to stand with the people against special interests and the bureaucracy looking to hijack government institutions.

Our Grand Old Party needs to focus on the fundamentals that made it, and our country, great. Deep down, we all know the prescription; we just have to find the courage to take the medicine. Once we do, voters will again reward us at the ballot box.