The New RNC Chair Needs to study Recent History

Politics, like Economics, is very cyclical. Ideology falls into and out of favor over time--some of it is due to ideas whose time have come and gone (ie, fighting Communism), perhaps the practice of implementing the principles are just not practical (prohibition), or the underlying inequality is just too much for the people to bear (slavery/civil rights).

But not all political changes are as drastic as the ones I have mentioned here, and sometimes tactics and strategy can provide the difference between a winning party and a party out of power. During the mid 90's all the way to 2004, the Republican Party made consistent gains in the American electorate. While they twice lost the Presidency (due in part to Ross Perot, some economic bad luck, and a brilliant individual political campaign performance by Bill Clinton in 1992), Republicans consistently won, and held power, at the Federal and State levels, and put a string of ideological judges and justices on the court benches across the country.

Then the wheels fell off. We can all speculate as to the reasons why (Iraq, Katrina, a tired machine of Republican leaders losing the will to fight each day, etc.), but in the end, Brand R has now been trounced in two elections in a row, and come January 20, 2009, they will be out of power in all of the Federal Branches of government, as well as the majority of State Houses and Governorships.

How did this happen?

Again, many can point to George Bush, and claim that his leadership is to blame for this mess. That is certainly a big part of it.

Another lesson to be learned is the organization efforts that DNC Chair Howard Dean put into place. During his 2004 Presidential run, Dean was seen as angry, liberal, and after Iowa, a little scream-happy. Then the Republicans made a terrible mistake--they dismissed him as a looney.

Much as Democrats dismissed Reagan as a not-too-bright actor, the Republicans saw this man, who had been lampooned with his "YEE-AHHHHH" scream, as a joke. Someone who couldn't possibly lead a parade, much less a national party.

But as DNC Chair, Dean recognized that the Democratic party had become the party of the Liberal Establishment, the Secular Progressives, the Coastal states only (with Chicago thrown in for good measure).

Dean started to put money into his "50 state strategy", and with the help of folks like Chris Van Hollen, and Chuck Schumer, began to recruit viable candidates in all 50 states, to run on the local campaign issues and values. To represent, and demand a stage in all parts of the country. Dean knew that he wasn't going to win South Carolina, Utah, or Oklahoma in the upcoming elections. But to provide people with a platform of ideas, and make the Democratic case to people in all parts of the country, was the only way tilt to the Left could ever happen. And Dean knew it. So he sunk money into the 50 state strategy. Van Hollen and Schumer found the candidates, and the rest, as they say, is history.

So, let's fast forward to today. Democrats have now re-established their presence in most, if not all parts of the country, and are vying actively for the hearts and minds of even those in the reddest of red states (notably, the South, Plains, and Mountain-West). And it shows.

In contrast, Brand R is in major trouble in parts of the country. New England has been referred to by Republicans as "the killing fields" for their candidates. New York has 3 GOP Congressmen left out of 29. Pennsylvania didn't even come close to electing John McCain, even after the all out blitz to try to win there. The Pacific Coast is the cultural Conservative's nightmare of liberalism, perceived culture rot, environmentalism, and hedonism.

But now Colorado and New Mexico have joined them. The upper mid-west has gone blue. Florida has started to waiver. Virginia is becoming a Democratic Mid-Atlantic State. North Carolina? Really? What next?

It's time for the GOP Chairman to make it his first priority to copy the efforts of Dean, Schumer, Van Hollen, Emmanuel, and the rest of the Brand D group. Time to start getting the message out to New England, California, New York, Pennsylvania and the Upper Midwest, that the Republicans are the party of ideas.

Michael Steele and Ken Blackwell are two fine candidates for such a message. Both are from states that went for Obama. Both have served in State Houses (Blackwell as Secretary of State for Ohio, Steele as Lt. Gov. of Maryland). Chip Saltzman may give the GOP a sense of comfort, but this role is not necessarily one of ideology. Haley Barbour may have been ideological, but also knew how to run a party. Gingrich may have been a back bencher for years, but he figured out how to recruit, and sell the party agenda to his fellow candidates, and Congressmen.

The recent flap about Saltzman and his CD disparaging Obama and other Democrats, is disappointing, and it is troubling that Charlie Crist is the only prominent Republican to come out and condemn it. But I think it shows that if the Party wants him to run the Committee, it could find itself in another election wondering why it can't make gains in any part of the country. Unlike Steele or Blackwell, I have heard nothing about getting the Republican message out from Saltzman. Being Mike Huckabee and Bill Frist's guy doesn't seem to be much of a qual. Neither does being the victim of a perceived unfair media bashing.

Time to stop putting the Liddy Doles in charge of things like candidate recruitment. Time to start taking a page out of your own past playbooks. OR, start to study how your opponents have cleaned your clocks the past two elections. Time for Brand R to get serious about growing up, and fighting back with ideas, real candidates, and real leadership.