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VIDEO: Barack Obama News – JERUSALEM, Benjamin Netanyahu, Labor, WASHINGTON
Obama says Israeli settlements not constructive to peace. Israelis charmed by Obama, but want to see more. Thomas Perez, Labor Secretary Nominee, Faces GOP Scrutiny. Chuck Hagel Orders Review Of Defense Strategy In Response To Budget Cuts
GOP Tech Week: Crux of the Autopsy
The one thing that is emerging most clearly for me in the digital post-mortem of the election (both sides) is this:
The Dems never had nor articulated the perfect assurances that we hear from the GOP that they had their digital/data situation wired, locked in, assured for victory. Dems freely admit in many recent reports that party/campaign managers could never really have a fully productive, reassuring ‘conversation’ with the dweebs. Casting my memory back over the last 12 years as the Dems built their formidable digital machine, I don’t recall many instances in which Dem leaders emerged from meetings with the tech folk and announced in advance the perfect tool for victory.
VIDEO: WASHINGTON News – Tom Perez, Hillary Clinton, Transportation Security Administration, Barack Obama
Thomas Perez, Labor Secretary Nominee, Faces GOP Scrutiny. Hillary Clinton backs same-sex marriage. Airline Industry Discord Emerges Over TSA Knife Policy. Obama nominates Justice official to top Labor slot
VIDEO: Republicans Lay Out ‘Road Map’ for Revamping Party
GOP Chairman Reince Priebus hopes to reshape the party’s stance on social issues and outreach efforts to minority voters.
VIDEO: Romney, Others Speak to CPAC Crowd About the GOP
The convention marked Romney’s first speech since the November. He was joined on stage by other politicians and the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre.
Republicans Want Their Party to Move in a More Conservative Direction
60% Six-in-ten Republican voters say they want to see the GOP move in a more conservative direction.
One of the major annual events for conservatives is the Conservative Political Action Conference whose theme this year is “America’s Future: The Next Generation of Conservatives.” The conference meets in the Washington area annually, and this year’s event, which begins today, comes at a time when Republican Party sentiment is to make the GOP more conservative.
In a post-election survey conducted Nov. 8-11, 2012, 60% of Republican voters said GOP leaders should move in a more conservative direction while just 31% want to see them move in a more moderate direction. In contrast, Democrats want their party to move in a more moderate — rather than a more liberal — direction by a 55% to 35% margin.
Although these views partly reflect the fact that conservatives make up a larger share of Republicans than liberals do of Democrats, this difference is evident even among the ideological wings of each party. Fully 70% of conservative Republicans want the GOP to move in a more conservative direction. Liberal Democrats are divided; 46% want the party to move in a more liberal direction while 45% prefer a more moderate move by the Democratic Party.
A Pew Research survey conducted in Aug. 2011 found that an increasing number of voters overall already perceived the Republican Party as very conservative. Just over one-in-five (23%) of voters regarded the GOP as very conservative compared to 18% who said so in June 2010. The percentages of those who saw the Democrats as liberal or moderate remained the same, at 32% and 26% respectively.
The survey also found that Republican voters see themselves as somewhat more conservative than they see their party. Those perceptions were amplified among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who agree with the Tea Party.
Read more
Why Young People Matter
by Lisa Stickan, Chairman, Young Republican National Federation
I remain optimistic that the GOP can make inroads with these voters for elections to come. Many young people still struggle to find work in this Obama economy and look to government to adopt policies to grow jobs. While organizations like Young Republicans and College Republicans aggressively message to these prospective voters, we cannot do it alone. The GOP as a whole needs to be more proactive and engage these voters. The two important strides for the GOP to make in this demographic include better candidate messaging and recognition that our younger generations involve a changing demographic.
Messaging is #1. Younger voters are more apt to vote for a person, not necessarily a party—so a candidate must connect! I firmly believe that candidates (and in the bigger picture, the political party) need to ask for someone’s vote to actually earn it. To do so, we must first own our message and not let Democrats and the media define us to large and unfamiliar segments of voters. I cannot tell you how many young women I had to reassure that Mitt Romney would not make birth control pills illegal.
Candidates must also do a better job of conveying that message to these voters. Young voters are vibrant, active, online, and “plugged in.” They live in the new media and communicate differently than their parents’ generation. The GOP’s message of economic independence and fiscal responsibility will relate to voters who are struggling to launch their post-college careers. But that message does us no good if those voters never hear it. I encountered many voters who were convinced Obama deserved a second term because “four years just isn’t enough time to make any improvements.” While we shake our head at the absurdity of these sentiments, one thing is clear—Obama was messaging to these young voters, with not only the mainstream media, but also social media and well-organized Democrat operatives, and persuaded them to stay the course.
Second to messaging, the GOP needs to recognize new diverse groups of voters, including Hispanics and Asian-Americans, now approaching voting age in great number. Romney made strides with some young voters; he captured 51% of young white voters. Despite his connection with that group, it was clearly not enough. The GOP must as a whole connect with these emerging groups of diverse voters, especially the youngest voters of these groups. This not only brings new faces into the party, but also bridges the gap in the generational divide. Many in these groups share our conservative values and even our views on social issues. This should be explored by party leaders.
Finally, as YRNF Chairman, it is obvious I would think the “youth vote” matters. But as outlined above, any group that comprises 1/5 of the vote has to matter.
The safe campaign strategy of focusing on only “older voters” is not going to bring the win home. In my own experience visiting with Young Republicans (YRs) around the country, I see a growing number of our party’s youngest members heading up campaigns within their communities, and a striking number running for local, state and national offices. I see Young Republicans doing a lot of the “political heavy lifting,” making calls at the phone banks and knocking on doors for candidates. These young activists are some of the strongest members of our party. And these YR leaders, through peer-to-peer messaging, are able to reach a larger audience to express the benefits of voting Republican. Grassroots organizations, like Young Republicans, can lead the way to open new avenues and reinvent the election playbook. Owning, bringing and delivering our message to these voters is our first step… let’s get started.
Stickan has been National Chairman of the Young Republicans since 2010.
The Young Republicans (YRs) are the oldest political youth organization in the United States. Important to the growth of the Republican Party, the YRs reach out to registered Republicans, 18 to 40 years of age, and provide them with better political knowledge and understanding of the issues of the day. Visit cyrfgop.com for more.
The Life of the Party; A Step by Step Guide to Becoming a Party Leader
As a follow-up to yesterday’s excellent post, New Direction for the GOP Begins at the Local Precinct Level – Conservatives Needed to Run for Office, Volunteer by Candice Lanier, Morton Blackwell, author of The Life of the Party written for the Leadership Institute, and I though this would make a great companion piece.
What follows is advice for conservatives of whatever party. Here is how you can be a party leader, even if you’re starting from scratch:
I wish more citizens were politically active. But since relatively few people choose to participate in party activity, those who do participate have a disproportionate share in our politics and government. In a practical sense, they are the political leaders of our country. If you’re not one of them, you have to influence them to accomplish much in the area of public policy.
Election laws and party rules vary from state to state and within each state. Veteran party activists understand the applicable procedures and use their knowledge to maximize their own power. Party leaders in the United States, in contrast to party leaders in other countries, have little direct control over party activists.
Indeed, party leaders must depend on the voluntary cooperation of others. Our party structures are wide open at the bottom. Power in a party goes to those who recruit and lead others.
Anyone can be a party activist. With a little effort and the resulting experience, almost anyone can be a party leader. Why not you?
New Direction for the GOP Begins at the Local Precinct Level – Conservatives Needed to Run for Office, Volunteer
Anger and frustration continue to mount as Americans express alarm at the direction in which the country is headed. In order to turn the tide and boost mid-term and general election results, conservatives must significantly increase political activity at the local level—the precinct. As the precinct leader, the committee person (or captain) is the only party official directly elected by voters. An individual serving in this capacity is the primary contact between voters, candidates and elected officials; the precinct committee person votes directly for the leadership of the party.
What are the responsibilities of a committee person? The following is a general checklist which may vary depending on the precinct:
- Elect a precinct captain to assume overall precinct leadership.
- Divide your precinct into geographical areas and assign portions of the precinct to each precinct committeeman.
- Recruit precinct volunteers and assign specific blocks (or areas) to them for door-to-door and telephone work.
- Have registration forms available in your precinct. Regularly check for newly moved-in Republicans and also for families who will have members turning 18 years of age before the next election.
- Maintain up-to-date records of the current Republican residents of your precinct.
- Attend precinct meetings. These are called for updating records, planning strategy and other organizational purposes.
- Attend district and or county Republican meetings. These will be great places to share information and ideas.
- Assist your precinct captain in recruiting election board workers.
- Assist your precinct captain in establishing election day GET-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) committees and a Precinct Election Headquarters.
- Distribute election information and candidate literature to the voters in your precinct.
How effective is this strategy? Well, Obama utilized it successfully against Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primaries. According to The Precinct Project, Obama and his backers “came out of nowhere to defeat the complacent ‘powers that be’” in the Democrat Party.
Many of the Republican Party precinct committee person slots, across the nation, are unfilled. Of the 400,000 slots nationwide approximately 200,000 are vacant. This represents a huge opportunity for conservatives.
So, in summary, a precinct committee person is tasked with helping to grow the party and with delivering the maximum number of votes from their precinct, on Election Day. If you would like to volunteer at your neighborhood precinct or run for office, visit the following website for local information:
American Hometowns – Cities, Counties, and Towns
You can also visit the following website (parts of which are under construction) to learn more about becoming a committee person, grass roots activism, how government works, pending legislation and more:
Congressman Eric Cantor to Deliver Major Policy Speech on Republican Ideas for our Future
Congressman Eric Cantor will deliver a speech today at 1 pm to the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute. The speech is called “Making Life Work” and will focus on how Congress can help make life work better in several areas including education, health care, workforce reform, immigration and innovation.
You can watch the speech live at 1 pm today at this link.
In case you missed it, the Wall Street Journal ran the article below on Sunday previewing the speech.
A GOP Leader Aims to Change Party’s Message
By Corey Boles, Wall Street Journal
Sunday, February 3, 2013
WASHINGTON-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor plans to urge Republicans to begin talking about how the federal government can help American families rather than focusing primarily on the need to reduce federal spending and tackle budget deficits.
In a policy speech scheduled for Tuesday to the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute, Mr. Cantor plans to talk about a range of areas-from education to medical research to job training, as well as an overhaul of the tax code-in the context of how Republican ideas could benefit families across the nation, a top aide to the majority leader said.
He plans to detail both existing and new GOP policies that he believes would serve as a strong framework that Republicans could use to make the case that their party’s ideas are better than Democrats’, the aide said.
The overarching theme of the speech will be that, while Republican determination to pare back federal budget deficits and the size of the federal government shouldn’t fade away, it should be supplemented with talk of how the party wants to make the government work better, the aide said.
Public opinion polls have repeatedly shown Americans hold Republicans to blame for the series of fiscal crises that have dominated Washington over the past two years. The speech, in effect, would serve as recognition that the GOP must change its messaging and its actions.
Republican strategists have spoken about the need to broaden the party’s appeal to other demographic groups, in the wake of November’s election losses. Republicans significantly trail in appealing to women, young people and minorities.
Mr. Cantor plans to emphasize existing GOP policies, such as educational initiatives that the party says would mean more school choice for students who often are forced to attend poorly performing public schools, the aide said. In a bid to highlight this, Mr. Cantor plans to visit a charter school in Petworth, a neighborhood undergoing gentrification in Washington, D.C.
The Virginia lawmaker also intends to discuss the need to repeal a tax on medical devices that was introduced as part of the Affordable Care Act, arguing that it was raising health-care costs for people; the need to allow highly skilled foreign nationals educated at U.S. colleges to remain in the country after they graduate; and the need to simplify the U.S. tax code, which would save families money and free up more family time.
The intention is to translate the speech into specific pieces of legislation that House Republican leaders hope to bring to the floor in the coming months.
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, other members of the House GOP leadership and committee chairmen have been briefed on the speech and are broadly supportive of the direction, the aide said.
