Posted on 11/13/2008 4:55:24 AM PST by flattorney
- - Republican governors meeting in Miami say their party has to shift its emphasis from ideology to voters' everyday issues.
The Republican Party, still grappling with last week's election results, should position itself as a pragmatic problem-solver for working people, GOP governors meeting in Miami said Wednesday. Without unequivocally stating that the party should move to the ideological center to appeal to moderate voters, leaders at the two-day Republican Governors Association meeting urged their colleagues to tackle education, energy and the environment to broaden the party's base. Largely absent from their discussions at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Miami: hot-button social issues such as abortion and gay marriage, which are seen by some party members as divisive.
Women, Hispanics and young voters flocked to Democrats on Election Day, and with a Democratic-controlled White House and Congress, it will fall on GOP state leaders to win those groups back, governors said. ''We need to reach out more as a party,'' said Gov. Charlie Crist, hosting the annual conference after Florida went blue in the presidential race and as the state faces a severe budget crunch. Still, Crist promoted Florida as a ''model of success'' in dealing with taxes, environmental issues and a large, diverse electorate, even if the state went for Barack Obama.
Jim Greer, head of the state GOP, said he was proud that Florida Republicans maintained their significant majority in the state Legislature and had a net loss of only one congressional seat out of several competitive races. ''We won every Republican race except for the presidential race,'' Greer said. ``Compared to what happened in other states, Florida did very well. ``In the presidential race, we were swimming up a stream that had a current that just overcame us.''
While governors avoided placing blame on how the presidential race was lost, conservative analysts at the meeting pointed to a more technologically savvy Democratic campaign and to the Bush administration's unpopular handling of the war in Iraq, the economy and Hurricane Katrina. ''You cannot mess up that much and expect to get reelected,'' said Byron York, who writes for the conservative National Review magazine. York argued that the party should not have nominated John McCain, who he said had ''thumbed his nose'' at some of the party's base. But on other panels Wednesday, some Republicans said the Arizona senator was the best person to take on Obama.
''He was the only Republican who could have come as close as he did,'' said Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay who worked on Mitt Romney's presidential bid before moving to the McCain camp. Speakers also shied away from placing blame on Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor and vice presidential nominee, who is scheduled to address the conference Thursday. She talked to reporters Wednesday about looking forward to being back in Alaska -- and about losing the Hispanic vote to Obama. ''That was unfortunate,'' Palin said. ``That was a very, very important constituency that wasn't quite grasped, I think.''
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour warned governors to work in their states before thinking about running for higher office in four years. ''Anybody here tonight who's talking about the 2012 presidential election needs to get their eye on the ball,'' he said. ``We don't need any talk of 2012.'' He said afterward that he was not directing his comments at Palin but at the news media.
Looking to the future, Crist and other GOP stars like Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Republicans should stick to their principles of smaller government and less spending, but also propose more-pragmatic solutions to appeal to what Pawlenty called ``Sam's Club voters.'' 'Our bumper-sticker message can't be, `Vote Republican because the other side is worse,' ''Jindal said. Added Pawlenty, once considered a possible McCain running mate: ' `Drill, baby, drill,' by itself, is not an energy policy. We need that, but we need a lot more than that.''
11.13.08: Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told his peers that now isn't the time to think about the next presidential election. "Anybody here tonight that has thought about the 2012 presidential election needs to keep their eye on the ball," Barbour, a former Republican Party chairman, told a reception for the governors and their supporters. "We don't need to talk about 2012." Instead, he said the future of the Republican Party is with its governors since the GOP has lost power in Congress and the White House. With 38 governors' seats up for election in the next two years, that's what the party has to focus on, he said. "That's how you get your party back going. And if you think this is practice time for people running for president in 2012, they need to get back in line. The next two years are the years that matter," Barbour said.
FlAttorney’s FR “Straight Talk” Republican Governors Association
TAB
What’s to debate?
The party’s direction is: WRONG!
Gov Blunt (MO-R) was on Fox and friends and he sounded like he wanted to take the party down the road of Alf
Landon in 1936.
There is only three words which the Republican Party needs to rebuild on, NO MORE RINO’S!!
Sounds like they still don't get it. Stop spending money, get the government out of everybody's business, concentrate on our own energy sources, let social issues be decided individually by the states, keep a strong military, protect our borders & follow the laws already on the books. Stop trying to appeal to everyone, by doing so - you end up offending everyone. Know your base and stick with it.
If the GOP can't do these things, I'm done with it.
Starting today, all Republicans politicians should “go dark” for three months. No TV, Radio, newspaper interviews. The media and dem heads will explode.
That's just way too subtle. Where's the obligatory, "... as she certainly deserves" end of the sentence??
Sounds like the new direction is center left.
Let’s open up the big tent again and invite everyone. And so to not offend anyone, adopt the most watered down moderate inoffensive platforn we can all mutually agree upon.
/s off
That’s still seemingly the new plan.
It looks like THEY plan on a "slight" variation on your theme. Something like: EVEN MORE RINOS!!
Too bad for them.
McCain moved to the center (actually, he never left it) to appeal to moderate voters and you see what it got him. There is so much wrong with the national Republican organization that I have doubts whether it can be fixed at all. If it can be fixed we need a strong leader to do it. Other than Newt becoming head of the RNC I don’t see a bright future.
I believe the flocking was by single women, Hispanics, blacks and Muslims. The others, married white women and all white men were in play with the Republican Party.
Through a good political education to the public of what we “should” be about, I think we may well get single women and Hispanics, at least a good split. I am sad to say, that efforts to convince blacks have been and are a waste of time money and effort. That is unfortunate but a fact of life. The Democrat indoctrination has made too deep a mark.
I am convinced conservative ideals sell well on Main Street. It depends on who is doing the selling. Our people in WDC have done a lousy job. The primary sales offices must be in the 50 states.
Telling it how it is, calling a spade a spade is all important.
I can't agree with you more. Actually, if they were to take your advice, the "base" would actually expand. Practical measures such as what you suggest would appeal to anyone with a little common sense. (On the downside, common sense is not all that common.)
You're right, they need to change it to "uncommon sense" - maybe even "endangered sense". This article is glaring proof that Republican politicians are completely out of touch with the people they are supposed to represent. They really need to get out of the beltway more & hob-nob with their constituency.
But really, TERM LIMITS would take care of that all by itself.
The Bush Doctrine of trying to out spend and out pander the Democrats was a tremendous failure. We need to go back to Reaganism and being the party of ideas.
SARAH’S REMARKS AT THE GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE WILL BE CARRIED ON C-SPAN AT 10:00AM!
Rino Alert, move to the center become more liberal. Crist is another Insane mccain.
Shame so many spam posters here cannot understand that.
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