The latest National Journal Political insiders poll finds that 57% of Democrats chose “policy prescriptions” as the area in which Republicans need the most improvement, while Republicans were far more divided, picking messaging as the top problem at 33%.
Republicans Move to Soften Image
“After years in which the Republicans’ answer to almost every question was to reduce spending and lower taxes, some of the party’s most influential voices are beginning to suggest that it is time to take a broader — and softer — focus,” the Washington Post reports.
“The latest to join that movement is House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), who in a speech on Tuesday called for Republicans to ‘focus our attention really on what lies beyond the fiscal debates’ and to create ‘conditions for health, happiness and prosperity.'”
GOP Establishment Seeks to Take Back Control
New York Times: “The biggest donors in the Republican Party are financing a new group to recruit seasoned candidates and protect Senate incumbents from challenges by far-right conservatives and Tea Party enthusiasts who Republican leaders worry could complicate the party’s efforts to win control of the Senate.”
“The group, the Conservative Victory Project, is intended to counter other organizations that have helped defeat establishment Republican candidates over the last two election cycles. It is the most robust attempt yet by Republicans to impose a new sense of discipline on the party, particularly in primary races.”
Why Republicans Should Ignore Obama
Ramesh Ponnuru: “Republicans can and should continue to stand for their principles on the many occasions when they conflict with Obama’s. What they shouldn’t do is conceive of their near-term political task as winning a series of confrontations with the president. Because they’re unlikely to win very often. Obama has inherent advantages in political debates with more than 200 House Republicans, and his re-election will only strengthen his hand, at least for now. The Republicans are better off sidelining Obama to the extent they can and fighting congressional Democrats — or, better yet, getting congressional Democrats to fight one another.”
A Second Republican Party
David Brooks: “It’s probably futile to try to change current Republicans. It’s smarter to build a new wing of the Republican Party, one that can compete in the Northeast, the mid-Atlantic states, in the upper Midwest and along the West Coast. It’s smarter to build a new division that is different the way the Westin is different than the Sheraton…”
“Would a coastal and Midwestern G.O.P. sit easily with the Southern and Western one? No, but majority parties are usually coalitions of the incompatible. This is really the only chance Republicans have. The question is: Who’s going to build a second G.O.P.?”
Quote of the Day
“It’s not the platform of the party that’s the issue. In many cases, it’s how we communicate about it.”
— RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, quoted by Politico.
Behind the GOP Crack Up
The Cloakroom: The 3 inconsistencies that are breaking apart the Republican party.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“As a party, we must recognize that we live in an era of permanent
politics. We must stop living nominee-to-nominee, campaign to campaign.”
— RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, quoted by Roll Call, calling for a Republican permanent campaign.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“We’ve got to stop being the stupid party. It’s time for a new
Republican Party that talks like adults. We had a number of
Republicans damage the brand this year with offensive and bizarre
comments. I’m here to say we’ve had enough of that.”
— Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), quoted by the Washington Post.
Boehner Says Obama Seeks to “Annihilate” the GOP
Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said he believes the primary goal of President Obama’s second term is to “annihilate the Republican Party,” The Hill reports.
Said Boehner: “Given what we heard yesterday about the president’s vision for his second term, it’s pretty clear to me that he knows he can’t do any of that as long as the House is controlled by Republicans. So we’re expecting over the next 22 months to be the focus of this administration as they attempt to annihilate the Republican Party.”
He added: “And let me just tell you, I do believe that is their goal — to just shove us into the dustbin of history.”
GOP Tries to Regroup
As the Republican National Committee meets for their annual meeting, the Charlotte Observer sets the stage:
“For most Republicans, November was grim. They lost the White
House and all but one battleground state. They lost seats in Congress.
They saw America’s fastest-growing minority groups reject their party.
But in North Carolina it was a happier story… A presentation scheduled
for Thursday is called ‘Success in N.C.: A Blueprint for the Future.’
But how much of that blueprint can be replicated is debatable.”
Americans Down on Republicans
The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that 49% of Americans hold a negative view of the Republican Party while 26% have a positive view. By comparison, the Democratic Party has a net positive rating, with 44% holding a favorable view of the party and 38% holding an unfavorable one.
First Read: “By the way, most of the recent negative movement for the GOP is among core Republicans. The GOP was already viewed very negatively by Democrats and indies; it couldn’t really get much worse with those two groups. So this latest shift for the GOP is due to the fact that a growing number of core Republicans were not happy with how the party handled the fiscal cliff.”
GOP Seeks Strength Through Weakness
Byron York: “The purpose of the House Republican retreat, now going on in Williamsburg, Va., is to help GOP lawmakers come to terms with just how weak they are. Even though the party controls the House, the talk in some quarters at Williamsburg is of adopting a ‘minority mentality’ to oppose President Obama’s initiatives the way Republicans did when they were in an even weaker position in 2009. By doing so, the thinking goes, the GOP might be able to rebuild itself after last November’s devastating losses.”
“The problem is, if Republicans are asked what they can reasonably expect to accomplish in the next six months, after a variety of fights with the president, they don’t have an answer. What would constitute an achievable victory? They don’t really know.”
The Cloakroom: GOP retreat gets off to a rocky start.
Quote of the Day
“This is about tone. It’s about messaging and it’s about showing people what we’re for instead of what we’re against.”
— Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), quoted by the Washington Post, describing his message to House Republicans at their retreat.
GOP Retreat Off to a Rocky Start
The Cloakroom: A session on wooing minorities is being held in a room named after Virginia slaveholders.
Quote of the Day
“I’m just honored to even have a voice that matters a little bit. A lot of people dream to be part of the policy mix.”
— Former Utah Gov. Jon Hunstman (R), in an interview with BuzzFeed, claiming he takes only 2% of interview requests.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I think the Republican Party is having an identity problem.”
— Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, on Meet the Press.
Quote of the Day
“Somebody got them the way they are now. Why can’t you change them?”
— New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, quoted by the Washington Post, on the Republican party.