Posted on 12/03/2012 1:57:15 PM PST by SeekAndFind
After the shocking loss in the November election, Republicans are once again considering whether to change leadership at the top. Reince Priebus wants a second term as RNC chair and still has considerable support for another go, but apparently some committee members have begun recruiting alternative candidates, among them former Congressman J.C. Watts. Watts tells Politico that he's not sure he'll run, but he's interested:
Watts, an African-American conservative who served in the House from 1994-2002, said the GOP defeat on Election Day demonstrates that Republicans need to broaden their appeal to minority voters, and cannot continue on their current path if the party is to be successful in presidential races.
“My concern right now, and I don’t say this necessarily as a candidate [for RNC chairman], my concern is that as a Republican, every single Republican in America ought to be concerned about what has happened in 2008 and 2012,” Watts said in an interview with POLITICO. “In this business, if you’re not growing, you’re dying.”
Watts would not identify who is lobbying him to challenge Priebus, and reiterated that he has not made a decision to definitely jump into the race.
Watts also says that he believes the RNC needs to fundamentally rethink its “ad hoc” approach to outreach:
Watts complained that Republican efforts to reach out to minority groups have not been sustained or consistent during his 20-plus years as a politician, but rather are executed on ad hoc basis – usually in election years. In Watts’ view, and that of many other Republican leaders and party operatives, if the GOP doesn’t dramatically improve its image with black and Hispanic voters, it will not be able to win back the White House.
“These old, tired, pathetic models of saying, ‘Okay, in the black [community], when there’s a presidential election, we will form an African-American Coalition for [Mitt] Romney or [Sen. John] McCain,’ I’ll never do that again. That is a joke, that is so tired,” Watts said. “It’s window dressing to say, ‘African Americans for Romney’ or ‘African-American Coalition’ or ‘African-American Advisory Council.’ That’s insulting to the people that they ask to do it when you don’t put an permanent infrastructure in place to give it credibility.”
I think Priebus did a pretty good job, considering the state of the RNC when he first took over. The organization was deeply in debt, and fundraising was in disarray. The RNC didn’t have a credible GOTV effort in 2010 in the week before Election Day in those midterms, and ended up relying out outside groups to drive their message. They were better prepared in this cycle, but just got out-organized by Team Obama and the DNC.
That said, I’m a big fan of J. C. Watts for precisely the kind of insight he has here. Republicans cannot compete with the kind of lackluster effort that has been made in urban centers. It isn’t just the infrastructure that’s the problem, though; it’s also a lack of vision and specific policies from candidates and the party to put conservative principles to work in these communities to make the lives of voters better. We need both infrastructure and policies, on an ongoing basis, and not just — as Watts says — in the last few months before an election. Republicans have to make themselves part of these communities, not just occasional tourists.
Perhaps Watts won’t run for RNC chair, or the RNC will think someone else will serve better. They’d better find a way to put Watts in position to make his insights a reality, though, if the GOP wants to compete in future elections.
Priebus voted for Obama? Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.
Sarah Palin AND Allen West competing for RNC Chair. Even better, IMHO. There are many TRUE conservatives who could run for RNC Chair, but it doesn’t mean that they really will run, unfortunately/fortunately, depending upon one’s interpretation of the relationship between true conservatives and the entire GOP.
I voted for the most liberal Republican in history in 2012....no difference.
He voted For Obama!!!!!!
No, not Priebus, Michael Steele.
Who did J.C. secretly vote for the past two elections?
If the RNC is looking for a black person specifically, why not Allen West? He would be awesome.
Yep and I am still brushing my teeth to get the taste out.
Ok. In this desperate time to get anyone in there besides the status quo I may at times endorse anyone who sounds in the least better on some level. JC may have jumped the shark with his vote but I think given a chance and people holding him accountable he could work out, or he is out as well.
He isn’t a conservative.
The entire GOP and conservatives, in general, “cave” way too often on way too many issues for way too long! When, if ever, is the “caving” going to, finally, go towards the entire Democratic Party and the left, in general?
In a perfect world nobody caves, but we are far from perfect. Just the other day I caved to my wife and teenaged daughter after years or saying no to “skinny jeans” and allowing her to watch certain tv shows. Now I feel I have opened the gates.
Yes I know poor comparison but I still caved to unrelenting pressure.
But, the “political caving” is, assiduously, moving in one direction, only, and this affects the long-term survival of “everything conservative”!
Agreed. Means more work for us.
The GOP approach should be color-blind because prosperity, for the hard-working, is not color-blind. That would mean a practical application of conservatism, a strategy completely unfamiliar to today's GOP-E.
Racial politics is one reason we're in the mess we're in now. Watts could stand to learn a lesson from it.
fwiw- Why don’t you ask J.C.?
Look it up, it was Priebus.
If that’s a fact that can be proven then count me as astonished! I know Reince. We both worked on campaigns together years ago and I do find this hard to believe.
If it is about the NHL strike, I miss my Tampa Bay Lightning!! (but then, I do miss my Whalers, even more!!!)
My profile explains the name that I chose in 2005, when we had Paul Martin as PM. For decades I had more respect for the voters in the US as a whole, than for the people of Canada who elected our leaders. Such lefty leaders as Rocky Waterhole (English translation of Pierre Trudeau), Jean Chretien and even Joke Lark (actually, Joe Clark).
While Stephen Harper is somewhat more ‘conservative’ than any PM that we’ve had in 40 years, his stance on several important social issues makes it appear that he has set aside at least some of the beliefs of his Calgary church, a Christian and Missionary Alliance Church. That said, in terms of class, ability, intelligence and fiscal conservatism, he is miles ahead of the fellow who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, between rounds of golf.
It seems that Mr. Harper also demonstrates more of the characteristics of a ‘vertebrate’ than your current Speaker of the House. That gentleman reminds me of two rather famous (now deceased) singers, Alessandro Moreschi or Giovanni Velluti, though more often the former than the latter.
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