What We Learned

Well, I'm not sure how much we can legitimately learn from yesterday's election results. We got our butts kicked, and good (and that's to say nothing of the 1st District, which I'll speak to once we have a result). Here are some of the lessons learned from the 2008 Presidential Election.

• Democrat Light is no way to go: Unfortunately, it looks like a lot of the calls of the Anybody but McCain camp from 2006 looked increasingly prescient. McCain was never a darling of conservatives due to his generalized support of larger government. Sure, McCain always stood up for lower tax cuts and an end to pork-barrel spending, but his comments and support of the Wall Street Bailout were consistent with many big government positions that he has taken over the years.
  
  What the American public told Republicans yesterday was that when Republicans race toward the center in an effort to look like Democrats...voters select the genuine article.
  
  
• The Republican Brand Sucks: We have talked extensively about the branding of the Republican party over the years, and I'm pretty sure that the value of the brand has reached its post-Watergate era nadir. I said back in July:
  

  the problem with Republican politics in the 21st century is not the ideology of conservatism, but leadership that itself is not conservative. Once we figure out how to fix that, Republicans will reassume the mantle of ascendancy that we lost when Congressional leadership went native a few years back.

  And it's pretty clear that we didn't do a very good job of that recently. Just take a look at the results and you'll see that. How else can you explain losses in North Carolina, a near loss in Georgia, a razor thin win in Missouri. These are Republican strongholds in Presidential Elections, and we couldn't hold on to them. It's not because these voters aren't naturally conservatives, it's just that they could no longer tell the differences between the Democratic Party and their own.
  
  
• Sarah Palin saved the day: Anybody who thinks that Sarah Palin lost this election is out of their mind. This election was realistically over not too long after the convention, we can see from hindsight. And let's face it, can you look me in the eye and tell me Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, or anybody else would have made a significant difference in the outcome, enough to tip the election? Of course not. People blaming this loss on Sarah Palin simply do not understand electoral politics.
  
  What Sarah Palin did do, however, is energize the conservative base. When conservatives are energized, they go to the polls, and take their friends and family to the polls with them. And what that did was get enough conservatives in the booth voting for downballot Republican candidates, particularly members of Congress. It seems pretty likely that the reason that we lost but 12 seats in the House of Representatives is squarely because of Sarah Palin.

Now, we put it all behind us, but we do not forget. It's our job to move forward, take what we have learned, and put the best foot forward for 2010 and beyond...

Back Catalog

Just so everybody knows, the back catalog of episodes of RedMaryland Radio are online in the Past Shows section of redmarylandradio.com.

I would strongly encourage you to listen to Part 2 of our interview with former Delegate Terry Gilleland. It's a very insightful 25 minutes that deals a lot with the issue of branding within the Republican Party, something that is near and dear to many of our hearts...

Electoral Victory through Conservative Branding

Two veteran Republican operatives agree with the branding problems with the Republican Party:

In 2006, voters rejected the Republican brand - not conservative ideals. America remains a right-of-center nation. Indeed, the greatest Democratic successes in 2006 were when they ran conservative Democrats who at times seemed more conservative than their Republican opponents (examples include Sen. Bob Casey in Pennsylvania and Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina).

The same pattern has been seen this year. Yet the talk among the congressional Republicans has been on how to appear more moderate. It is as if the leaders want to adopt the "me-too Republican" approach that failed so dismally until the election of Ronald Reagan. Running away from the conservative philosophy will only ensure a long-term Republican minority, such as happened in the 40 years before the "Contract With America..."

...What are the conservative principles that need to be emphasized? They are quite simple and resonate with most voters: strong economic policies that stress less government, less taxes, and the entrepreneurial spirit of the individual; a strong national defense; enforcement of immigration laws; and a willingness to fight environmentalists to allow drilling on American soil.

Read the whole thing, as this is just more proof that the problem with Republican politics in the 21st century is not the ideology of conservatism, but leadership that itself is not conservative. Once we figure out how to fix that, Republicans will reassume the mantle of ascendancy that we lost when Congressional leadership went native a few years back.

No Model

John Leopold continue his campaign to be anointed as the Republican Nominee for Governor in 2010 by calling urging the GOP to follow him:

Local government is at the cutting edge of bipartisan, pragmatic governance that improves people's lives. In Anne Arundel County, we have built a model for governing in the 21st century that sets a standard for effective governing that should be reflected in our national party platform.

Leopold talks about a lot of the good things that the administration has done here in Anne Arundel County, with a heavy emphasis on public safety and immigration enforcement, two things that the entire GOP can rally around.

Of course, some of the things that Leopold supports and has supported in the past leave me nauseated at the concept that Leopold thinks anybody should use him as a model for the Republican Platform.

• Does John Leopold still want to raise taxes and fees, as he has proposed to do half a dozen times since taking office?
• Does John Leopold still support government-funded abortions, as he did as a legislator in Hawaii and as a former Director of Planned Parenthood?
• Does John Leopold still oppose the small government model set forth by Ronald Reagan, as he did at the 1980 Republican National Convention?
• Does John Leopold still support the energy rate hikes he voted for as a member of the General Assembly?
  

If those are the things that John Leopold wants to do to the Republican Party, he can shove them where the sun don't shine.

Squishy liberal Republicans are the cause of, not the cure for, Republican branding issues in the modern body politic. It is when politicians started acting more like Leopold, and less like small government conservatives, where the Republican Party went awry, as I have stated time and time again.

When it comes to the future of the Republican Party if John Leopold is the answer, you're asking the wrong question...

Poignancy

As many of you know myself, Greg Kline, and others have spent a significant amount of time talking about GOP branding and how the Republican Party needs to right the ship in order to achieve electoral sustainability in 2008 and beyond. And nowhere has the argument for such a necessary rededication to principles has been found than today's Wall Street Journal piece penned by Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn:

Many Republicans are waiting for a consultant or party elder to come down from the mountain and, in Moses-like fashion, deliver an agenda and talking points on stone tablets. But the burning bush, so to speak, is delivering a blindingly simple message: Behave like Republicans.

Unfortunately, too many in our party are not yet ready to return to the path of limited government. Instead, we are being told our message must be deficient because, after all, we should be winning in certain areas just by being Republicans. Yet being a Republican isn't good enough anymore. Voters are tired of buying a GOP package and finding a big-government liberal agenda inside. What we need is not new advertising, but truth in advertising.

And if that doesn't cut to the teeth of the argument, nothing will. Make sure to read the whole thing.

One of the points that Coburn mentions time and again is the need for Republicans to start acting like Republicans again. And that is something that all Republicans need to embrace. Furthermore, this is not a problem just at the Federal level, either. We have seen time and time and time again where Republican elected officials even here at the state and local level have gone to unprecedented lengths to aid and abet Democratic efforts to raise taxes, increase the size of government, or support Democratic programs for pet issues.

Unfortunately, friends, this is where the rubber is meeting the road for our Republican future. Our "farm team" both here and across the nation are being weaned on "compassionate conservatism" and running and governing on ideals that are anathema to the conservatism that endeared our party and our leaders to the electorate. These candidates and elected officials are being sold a bill of goods that puts greater importance on the next election than the next generation.

Connecticut GOP Executive Director Heath Fahle also makes solid points on The Everyday Republican and on his blog at The Next Right:

It falls on us to not be distracted by talk of a ‘new and improved brand’, and instead focus on promoting our values, especially those that we forgot about when Republicans were in power - a smaller government that cuts up the national ‘credit card’ and starts reducing the national debt, a simpler government that requires less red tape and agita to get things done, and a more fair government that does not favor one set of lobbyists over another - rather favoring sensible policy over foolish ones.

There is no silver bullet that will return Republicans and conservatives to ascendancy. But it will take Republicans from the grassroots level on up to stand up to big government Republicans, stand up to these liberals who wish to lead the party astray, and to reclaim the Republican Party for what it is. As Senator Coburn concludes:

Regaining our brand is not about "messaging." It's about action. It's about courage. It's about priorities. Most of all, it's about being willing to give up our political careers so our grandkids don't have to grow up in a debtor's prison, or a world in which other nations can tell a weakened and bankrupt America where we can and can't defend liberty, pursue terrorists, or show compassion.

The responsibility, friends, is ours.