Can the GOP save itself?

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

Yes to the question of this thread. Now let's see if they can.

Americans will keep voting for a Dem for Pres until they get sick of the 'nanny state' mentality that Dems are pushing. Until then, nothing will change.

[kalm]

Unfortunately, I really don't think it is. We have a duopoly and pols from both sides as well as msm pundits attend the same cocktail parties, live inside the same bubble, and pretty much support the same status quo. The only way this gets fixed is campaign finance reform.

I didn't mean it in a good way

I know you didn't and you and I are pretty much on the same side. I just like to repeat the obvious in the hopes that IT will someday get it. He's a little slow on the take.

[kalm]

Unfortunately, I really don't think it is. We have a duopoly and pols from both sides as well as msm pundits attend the same cocktail parties, live inside the same bubble, and pretty much support the same status quo. The only way this gets fixed is campaign finance reform.

I got two words for you...


(Jill Stein)

Who?

[Ivytalk]

I didn't mean it in a good way

I know you didn't and you and I are pretty much on the same side. I just like to repeat the obvious in the hopes that IT will someday get it. He's a little slow on the take.

And precisely how will public financing help the situation if, as you say, both parties really advocate the same "corporatist" goals? Answer: it will continue to entrench incumbents, but on the taxpayers' nickel. Gawd, kalm, you are dense.

[Ibanez]

Jesus H. Christ you're an idiot if you truly think that is a Donk/Conk issue.

Obama:2
Repukes:0

So yeah cheese Dick, its a repuke problem. The current GOP is old, outdated and full of men who are stuck in the dream world of 1950's America.

The Democrats share the blame for the country's woes

[UNI88]

Jesus H. Christ you're an idiot if you truly think that is a Donk/Conk issue.

Obama:2
Repukes:0

So yeah cheese Dick, its a repuke problem. The current GOP is old, outdated and full of men who are stuck in the dream world of 1950's America.

And here I thought is was:
Obushma: 4
Rational solutions: 0

[AZGrizFan]

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/12/ ... p=obinsite" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This guy's got it figured out:

Now that one month has past since the GOP’s lopsided loss -- in what should have been an easy White House victory given America’s disastrous economic times and fading influence abroad -- Republicans must come up with an action plan to fix what went wrong. And it must be done fast.

As a career military veteran, a key phrase I heard in leadership schools was “you can’t expect good people to succeed in a lousy organization.” When I became part of a presidential campaign this year, I experienced a nomination process that is “a lousy organization.” Getting that piece right is essential if the GOP wants to win the White House in 2016 and beyond.

Though most pundits rightly identified key factors in Gov. Mitt Romney’s 332-206 electoral defeat -- overly harsh positions on immigration reform which alienated Hispanic voters, and guilt-by-association for inexcusable remarks made by Senate candidates Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock on rape and abortion, there has been virtually no discussion on specific steps prevent a repeat in 2016.

So here are three recommendations to consider today:

First, the GOP must take on the “elephant in the room,” and that’s the Iowa Caucus.

Since 1972 it’s been the first nomination contest for president, and has increasingly set the tone for who gets to the general election. As the media have been reporting, there are only 3 tickets out of Iowa due to the nationwide perception of being a frontrunner. This translates into enormous amount of effort to win the Hawkeye State. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani skipped it altogether in 2008 -- and that decision crippled his campaign.

As Iowa is a caucus and not a primary, relatively few voters decide the outcome – just a couple hundred thousand out of over 3 million people. And since they consist of town hall meetings in the middle of winter, you get the most fired up folks. This is how we ended up with Barack Obama in the White House, as Move On.org types beat the Clinton-machine democratic establishment in 2008, setting the tone nationwide.

For Republicans in Iowa, most caucus participants are ardent social conservatives who are committed to overturning Roe v. Wade, opposed to gay marriage, and anti-immigration.

Thus in order to win, place or show in Iowa campaigns must run to the right on these issues -- and away from an increasingly centrist America.

Which helps explain why extreme candidates with no real shot at becoming president like Rep. Michele Bachmann and Sen. Rick Santorum won the Iowa Straw Poll and Iowa Caucus respectively, despite long track records of shocking comments that drove moderates and independents away.

And although Sen. Santorum technically won the caucus this year, barely edging out both Gov. Romney and Rep. Ron Paul, he did so only after visiting all 99 counties -- proving not much other than his commitment to connecting with folks who share his far right-wing social views.

Though appealing to the Republican base worked well in decades past, that base is shrinking and the country is looking more diverse, more like California, every day.

In planning for 2016, GOP leaders should go back to the drawing board. Insisting Iowa move their caucus to the 4th contest or later, after primaries in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida would be a great start. This would reduce the impact of dwindling social conservatives on the rest of the country.

Failing that, the next crop of serious GOP presidential candidates could all agree just to skip Iowa, thus easing tough rhetoric on abortion and immigration off the table.

Second, there must be a moratorium on pledges. There are literally hundreds of pledges, surveys and questionnaires that advocacy groups force on candidates, placing them into inescapable little boxes on everything from fetal-pain bills to no tax increases. Failure to sign these pledges incurs the wrath of its sponsors, with accompanying attempts to damage candidates who don’t play along.

Having worked in the think tank and foundation world for a few years now since leaving the Pentagon, I see pledges as a mix of ideology and fund raising gimmick to show off to donors. GOP leaders should work to ban pledges, and if they can’t, campaign managers should agree to collectively take a pass.

Finally, the GOP Convention must start looking more like America. As well run as it was, the lack of diversity played into the “Occupy Movement” and Democrat narrative that Republicans are for rich, white people. It’s got to start at the grassroots level, with state party leaders increasing the numbers of Latinos, Blacks, Asians and other ethnic backgrounds among their delegations.

And as bad as Republicans feel with another 4 years of Barack Obama in charge, they’ll feel even worse with a President Joe Biden or President Hillary Clinton to follow in 2016. Time to get to work.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/12/ ... z2ErCDdMpV" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[danefan]

Second, there must be a moratorium on pledges. There are literally hundreds of pledges, surveys and questionnaires that advocacy groups force on candidates, placing them into inescapable little boxes on everything from fetal-pain bills to no tax increases. Failure to sign these pledges incurs the wrath of its sponsors, with accompanying attempts to damage candidates who don’t play along.

Having worked in the think tank and foundation world for a few years now since leaving the Pentagon, I see pledges as a mix of ideology and fund raising gimmick to show off to donors. GOP leaders should work to ban pledges, and if they can’t, campaign managers should agree to collectively take a pass.

Pledges are the dumbest thing in the world.

How about a single pledge - "I pledge to represent my consituents to the best of my abilities. If I fail, do not re-elect me. If I succeed, vote for me next time around."

[AZGrizFan]

Jesus H. Christ you're an idiot if you truly think that is a Donk/Conk issue.

Obama:2
Repukes:0

So yeah cheese Dick, its a repuke problem. The current GOP is old, outdated and full of men who are stuck in the dream world of 1950's America.

Do yourself a favor and just stay out of the deep end of the pool, kleanex.

[mrklean]

Obama:2
Repukes:0

So yeah cheese Dick, its a repuke problem. The current GOP is old, outdated and full of men who are stuck in the dream world of 1950's America.

Do yourself a favor and just stay out of the deep end of the pool, kleanex.

WOW......

[HI54UNI]

So here are three recommendations to consider today:

First, the GOP must take on the “elephant in the room,” and that’s the Iowa Caucus.

It's time for the Iowa Caucus to lose its first in the nation status. The extremes of both parties go to the Caucus. An average person does not want to go sit at a meeting for a couple of hours to cast a vote on some cold, winter night in January.

[Ibanez]

I think the GOP could draw support by amending their platform. This doesn’t mean they have to compromise their principles For instance, instead of being so anti-Immigration they should acknowledge the difficulty in expelling all the illegals and give them a viable path to citizenship. Instead of being anti-tax rate increase, acknowledge that an increase in taxation is appropriate sometimes but can be responsible when coupled with spending cuts. Understand that women have the right to their bodies. Understand that people love differently. Get out of peoples bedrooms and out of their personal lives. For a group of people that constantly complain the gov’t is too involved, they sure have no trouble getting involved in homosexuals lives. And if this turns hardcore Republicans and Tea Partiers away, so be it. Who cares, you don’t want those extremists and fringe groups being part of your Party. Ideally, this is what should happen. They should utilize more reason in their decisions and policy making. They should avoid evangelical solutions to secular problems. As much as I don’t like Joe Biden, his comments on his faith during the Vice-Presidential debate was spot on.