Saturday, April 11, 2009

How the GOP Can Resurrect Itself

I am no fan of the Republican Party. That said, it is fun to think about political strategy. If I were a Republican, I would implement the following strategy to resurrect the GOP:

First, I would change the party's position on immigration. Latinos traditionally associate themselves with the Dem Party. Yet, polls consistently show that Latinos are actually quite conservative in their economic and social positions. Thus, there must be some reason why Latinos are shunning their more natural fit, the GOP. The answer is undoubtedly the GOP's position on immigration. Irrespective of the merits of the GOP's immigration arguments, it can not be doubted that conservatives' fiery rhetoric regarding the issue dissuades Latinos from signing up for the GOP. Given the poll numbers, it seems that, if the GOP becomes a party that seeks to accommodate and welcome immigrants into this country, the GOP would score a bloc of over 37.4 million potential-voters! Also, this position would reach out to moderate Americans who are turned off by the GOP's staunch, sharp position on immigration.

Second, the GOP needs to ditch the religious right as a political base. The religious right is not a sufficiently large portion of the population to serve as a political base. Yet, the policy positions that the religious right espouses are divisive and defeat the GOP's attempts to build a larger tent. Also, if the GOP turns away from the religious right, it will not lose them as voters; after all, the religious right will never vote for Democrats.

I don't want to see the GOP come into power. But, if I were a Republican, the above would be my strategy.

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