The San Francisco Chronicle did us all a great service with their story over the weekend "GOP brand pronounced dead in deep blue California".
The problem is, several of their analysts for the GOP provided zero in the way of fresh thinking about the issue, and in fact, if their opinions are actually implemented, it will make the problem worse.
"Republicans need to learn how to talk to non-traditional Republican voters," said Bettina Inclan, who worked on the communications team for losing California GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner. Not just Latinos, she said, but African Americans and young people, too.
What? What exactly does that mean? We’ve "talked" to voters until we’re blue in the face. We’ve been moderate, we’ve been conservative, sent mail in multiple languages, even pandered. Nothing is working. Why? Because 2nd and 3rd generation Latinos in this State are liberals, and our ideas for how government should work are not going to appeal to them. African Americans are not going to consider the Republican Party either, until their lives get so bad from voting Democrat that they want to look for another option. That happened in 2003, and it will happen again.
Good solid candidates like Damon Dunn even prove that it ISNT a race issue for African American voters.
"Republicans will remain dead in California until the party "decides it won’t be hostile to people who aren’t old and white," said Darry Sragow, interim director of the USC/Los Angeles Times Poll and a longtime Democratic strategist.
Really Darry? Can you provide me some examples of our hostility to everyone who isn’t old and white? I have been watching, since 1998, "outreach" to every group under the sun. There hasn’t been "hostility". Are you kidding me? Meg Whitman, for all the problems in her campaign, touched every voter in the State with a positive plan to fix the State’s problems. She got crushed. Abel Maldenado would be stunned to learn that he’s been hostile. The State’s voters are not interested in solutions, Darry. They are very, very partisan. What great idea got Jerry Brown elected?
The reality is, our brand problem has many components. I’ve already mentioned two. The third, is our former Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. He left the State in far worse shape than he found it. That hurts the brand. Our GOP legislative leaders over the years have enabled every bad gimmicky budget responsible for our financial mess over the years. GOP votes have enabled tax increases, and those tax increases have fixed absolutely nothing. Another notch in the brand destruction.
Rick Claussen, a leading GOP strategist, said that unless the grass roots and the state party change tactics – and step back from their current emphasis on conservative social issues – "we’re not going to see a Republican statewide winner in the next decade."
Really Rick? What Statewide campaign has been run on pro life issues in the last 20 years? What Statewide campaign has had, as its cornerstone, support for traditional marriage? What exactly are you talking about? We’ve avoided these issues like the plague, even as California voters were affirming Proposition 8. You’re advising the Party to avoid issues that is HAS been avoiding. I really, really don’t understand.
Proposition 14 is some great antidote to this? If the GOP just had more moderates we’d be okay? Are we insane? We’ve HAD moderates! What the hell was the Governor?. He was a great "moderate". Our pro choice, pro gay marriage Governor left with the lower approval ratings than Gray Davis. Did you get that, Claussen? Our legislative leaders, EVERY time, have enabled the State’s financial mess along with the Democrats. We’ve been "moderate". Doesn’t work.
The Republican Party needs to go back to small ball. Winning local elections, battling public employee unions at the County and City level, and sponsoring ballot initiatives to incrementally fix the pressing problems of our State. We’re doing that locally here in Fresno County, and I know that other counties are as well.
The nonsensical analysis in the Chronicle article is proof that some "experts" really are not experts at all, or are at least unwilling to tell the truth about why the GOP is suffering in this State.
The State is full of liberals. We’ve got to get under the radar and fix what we can at the local level, and with Statewide, good government initiatives. Win or lose, we’ve got to keep trying. End of story.