Quick Hit for Wednesday

CAN THE GOP BE SAVED?

Personally, I couldn't care less. I'm not a party man, I'm a conservative. If the GOP isn't going to be conservative, then someone else will. Though I am not unaware of the importance of having a party counterbalancing the left, ultimately my allegiance isn't to a party. I have an easy time not voting for someone who brings "Hope" and "Change", because I already have a Savior and am in no need of someone attempting to be another.

However I do think that if they want, the Republicans can salvage themselves. Here is what they need to do.

1) Offer solutions. Too much of the party platform is summed up in one word: 'no.' Abortion? No. Gay marriage. No. If the GOP wants to be significant, they need to be able to provide answers to common issues. Why vote for someone who is just against something but doesn't provide any alternatives? The GOP is up against a modern Democratic party that has whored itself out to every cause they can think of. If the GOP is against it, they'll support it. With a few exceptions, that's where we are. Politics cuts both ways, with the GOP being against whatever the Democrats are for. People are much more likely to vote for a party that acquiesces to everything they want than a party that just says no to everything.

2) Actually follow through with what they promise. Lowering the deficit is a good thing. Decreasing spending is a good thing. Lower taxes are a good thing. All of those are things people generally like, and they're fundamentally conservative tenants. But when a liberal Democrat is perceived as being the tax-cutting candidate, you know your party has messed something up. It doesn't help that the deficit and spending increased exponentially under Republican leadership.

3) Communication. The GOP is horrible at communicating their message (when they have one). Whether it is through the internet or your average stump speech, they just aren't communicating with the average voter. Ironic, considering it is the party of Ronald Reagan, "The Great Communicator."

4) Don't assume anything. Even if the economy tanks over the next four years, Obama is a good enough communicator that he could still pull off re-election. Heck, FDR was able to get re-elected twice during the Great Depression. If he can do it, so can Obama. The GOP can't sit back and assume that the American public is aware of anything. If the Zogby poll and heinous media bias taught them anything, it should be that they can't rely on Americans getting the most reliable information without them actively making sure they know.

I think if the GOP sticks to those four fundamentals, then they'll be alright. People always want 'hope', but they'll respond even more to actual specifics.