Republicans are on the wrong track. Heres what they need to do.
I never thought Id have to resort to quoting Woody Allen to help describe whats wrong with todays Republican Party but desperate times call for desperate measures. Allen famously once said that 80 of success in life is showing up. He was right. Maybe its not 80 but its certainly at least half the battle in my experience.
So much of life is about showing up or what military trainers call being present." Being a good friend means taking the time to show up for that birthday party or being there when someone needs a shoulder. Being a good spouse is about showing up and giving the best of yourself to your partner every day. Being a good manager is about understanding how every aspect of your enterprise works and appreciating the challenges faced by your employees.
Theres a lesson here for a national Republican Party that is still in the midst of soul-searching after the losses in 2012. Nearly a year later the GOP still lacks a coherent vision agenda and strategy for expanding its relevance. Its lacking a broad-based message and the partys leadership looks adrift despite the Presidents 35 approval rating on the economy. GOP leaders in Washington continue to be played like a fiddle by the President botching opportunities to highlight the Administrations abuse of power and failing to put forth an aggressive plan to reduce the size of government. With more than 20 million people still out of work and the lowest workforce participation rate in decades the GOP the party that is supposed to carry the pro-growth agenda has been absent. It now faces a conundrum on Syria which is also designed to highlight their inaction and insulate the President from criticism.
True some might say that that the Speaker and Majority Leader have put forth meaningful proposals to reduce the deficit etc but nobody knows what they are and they wont get credit for any of them.
The first year of the Presidents second term has been a combination of indecision and careful political defense. Despite that the hapless GOP hasnt been able to capitalize in any way. The only thing Republicans in Congress have been trying to do over these last months is defund ObamaCare and debate immigration reform. When theyre not doing those things the supposed 2016 contenders are sniping at each other in the press and drawing battle lines within the party.
Thats not showing up. Thats not being present. Beltway listlessness coupled with the Cruz-Paul-Christie-Rubio dynamic speaks volumes about just how misplaced the energy of Republican Party leadership is heading into the mid-terms.
Instead of pushing bills that dont have the votes to defund Obamacare and making the rounds on the Sunday talk shows GOP elected officials should be making sure they are responding to the needs of their individual constituencies. An entire summer has come and gone. Where were the field hearings on plans to help small businesses? Where are the town halls on deficit reduction? Where were the rallies for lower taxation and getting government out of the way of job creation?
Showing up isnt about bluster or positioning. Showing up isnt about political maneuvering. Its not about RINO bashing. Showing up is about being willing to lead. Its about understanding how to craft articulate and advance a discernible agenda. Its about doing your job.
Christie and Pauls debate about libertarian influence in the party isnt irrelevant. Its misplaced energy. As for Rubio and Cruz you dont ram an unworkable immigration bill through the Senate because you think it will get you the nomination and you dont try to defund Obamacare because you think it will play well in Iowa or New Hampshire.
You dont pick a fight with another member of your party because three years out from an election you think it will make you look like a leader. The 2016ers have to stop trying to be somebody and start trying to do something. They need to get to work together to craft a record that will make voters want to vote Republican in the mid-terms or the next presidential.
The agenda the policy and the record of results is what matters more than the terribly transparent political maneuvering that is turning off voters across the political spectrum.
Showing up also means at times reaching beyond your comfort zone. Type the words African-American unemployment" into the search engine on John Boehners website and youll find the latest entry is from January 2012. The Speakers Office website was even worse. Minority Unemployment" search terms dont return a relevant result since 2011.
African-American and Latino unemployment in this country is a crisis that is disregarded by the Democrats who take those constituencies for granted. Even worse its a crisis that goes ignored because solving it goes against the dependency-based ideological underpinnings of progressivism. African-American unemployment is more than double the national average. Less than 20 of black teens held a summer job this year.
Its an opportunity for the GOP to show up. Its time for the GOP to show up in urban environments long ignored by the party.
Its time for GOP members of Congress particularly those in safe seats to start acting voting and thinking like fiscal conservatives. Its time for current and would-be national GOP leaders to focus on jobs lower taxes meaningful spending cuts and the issues the President doesnt have the courage to address.
Why should we show up? Not because we will get the votes but because its the right thing to do. Because it will show that the Party of Lincoln still cares about the average American. We need to show up to be relevant and drive the values that will preserve this nation as an example of freedom opportunity and innovation.
Our nations chronic problems wont be solved overnight and neither will those of the Republican Party. But a healthy vibrant Republican Party is essential to maintain our Republic. Its time it showed up and got to work.