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Another Perspective
Reorganizing the Community
A party in retreat should feel obligated to try out some new ideas that might broaden its appeal.
Last week the Republican Party had a retreat, presumably to re-treat some of the issues which have been forcing them lately into making retreat their default position. If anyone was looking for an idea, a single solitary idea, from outside the box, they are now stuck deciding whether to laugh or cry.
As is generally the case, only politicians were invited to present policies and proposals. Thinkers and writers need not apply. Still, in the naïve belief that an idea might be considered from an outsider I developed the following presentation.
CAUTION: ACTUALLY ORIGINAL POLICY IDEA
*****
OUTLINE OF BOLD INITIATIVE TO BROADEN REPUBLICAN POLITICAL BASE
Project CARE: COMMUNITY ADVOCACY REPUBLICAN ENDOWMENT
PROBLEM #1: The Republican Party has shown a consistent inability to build a strong base among blacks and Hispanics. It is hard to envision a long-term future for a major party without such bases.
PROBLEM #2: The Republican presence in black and Hispanic districts is so non-existent, they usually do not even contest those Congressional seats.
PROBLEM #3: The only way for blacks to become Republicans in Congress is by winning white districts, because black districts vote reflexively Democrat. Hispanics are in a similar situation, with the exception of Cuban areas. This keeps the number of black and Hispanic elected Republicans embarrassingly low.
PROBLEM #4: As long as the caucus of elected Republican minorities is minuscule, it reinforces the image of a party inhospitable to those groups, thus curbing potential recruitment.
RESOURCES: At this time, the Republican Party controls the majority of state governments. However, on the Federal level, it only has the House of Representatives.
PARAMETERS FOR SOLUTION: To make a big difference, a plan needs visibility in the black and Hispanic areas. It could also benefit from national exposure.
The approach would have to show a believable concern for the plight of those communities without sacrificing party principles. It would have to demonstrate tangible benefits to those communities over time.
PROPOSED SOLUTION: To create a legion of shadow Congress people who are Republicans, appointed rather than elected.
IMPLEMENTATION: In each of the 200 districts won by Democrats, we name/hire a “community advocate” for the same $174,000 salary given to Congress people, but without any perks. Where a serious candidate ran and lost, that candidate is offered the job. Where there was none, we do an accelerated search to find qualified people.
About the Author
Jay D. Homnick, commentator and humorist, is a frequent contributor to The American Spectator. He also writes for Human Events. Here he speaks at the Rally for Religious Freedom in Miami on June 8, 2012.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (14) | Leave a comment
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MarkJeff| 2.6.13 @ 9:23AM
You know, a caller to Rush made what I thought to be a good approach to the low-information voters: using tax credits and vouchers (without calling it that), campaign on "giving them things!" You have to fight stupid with stupid, while actually not giving up your principles!
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Pecos Pete| 2.6.13 @ 10:32AM
Mr. Homnick: Well done!
KennesawJack| 2.6.13 @ 10:44AM
I like it! Actually, I like anything that will give the Obamabots fits and this certainly sounds like it will do that.
lsudolemite| 2.6.13 @ 10:54AM
So how will these advocates respond to the community when they universally view the solution to their plight as ever more entitlement crack? And when they know the Dems will always be their best dealer? What actually constitutes "getting things done" and "services"?
cicero| 2.6.13 @ 11:24AM
Oh, this is a really great idea. Since the Republican/Conservative movement cannot compete with free stuff for people who refuse to work, offer them free stuff for not working, but out of another pocket. Why not just try to run on principle? Last time I looked, there were still more workers paying taxes that takers paying none. True, one or two more election cycles like the last one, and that may change. However, throwing gasoline on the fire is not going to bring it under control.
The Rs will not get the votes of the black community. They are as hapless as the Jewish community. They will get that portion of the Hispanic community who have assimilated, and who vote on the same issues as their conservative mates. The young Hispanic community appears to prefer free stuff to earned stuff, so they are beyond reach.
The Rs have to articulate their principles, and fight for them. Hiding them, and thinking they can trick the idiots to vote for them won't work. Those Rs who stayed home because their candidate was not conservative enough was foolish, to say the least, and cost the conservatives a chance to pull the country's fat out of the fire.
Turk| 2.6.13 @ 11:43AM
Jay An excellent idea! You and I jousted over Robert E. Lee some time ago. The Carl Rove/Country Club crowd will trash it!
mike 3/505| 2.6.13 @ 1:03PM
Mr H,
First of all, mega-kudos for the effort....an 'out of the box" one at that. Ithink it would be worth a try, with one caveat: All "help" given by our hired "communinty infiltrator," needs to be based on conservative principles. As another poster indicated, we don't need to be seen as yet another source of "free stuff." The liberals will always beat us with experience on that one.
KennesawJack| 2.6.13 @ 2:41PM
Agreed.
Claudia Monteverdi| 2.6.13 @ 1:33PM
Dear Jay, shocked, absolutely shocked that you avoided the obvious:
Vota Presidente Republicano 2,o16
Beyonce and Jay Lo
Claudia Monteverdi| 2.6.13 @ 1:40PM
Jay, Jay..you are too damned smart for the Jindal GOP..we are the party of stupid, remember? Here's what ya do.....promises, promises, instant wealth, spread it around, throw off your chains, kill the man, teayvon's my son, the cambridge cops are fascists, bury arizona...catchin on?
Controse| 2.6.13 @ 3:14PM
And your plan Mr. Homnick weans the huddled masses off of the Big-Government teat how? I mean after all isn't that what differentiates the Republican Party platform, principles, guiding philosophy from the forces of darkness? The idea of a shadow congressional representative's office is great but let's use it to teach the founding principles of our freedoms and self-sufficiency not to use it as an alternative channel to better keep the handouts coming.
GobBluthe| 2.6.13 @ 9:29PM
""This keeps the number of black and Hispanic elected Republicans embarrassingly low.""
There are more elected GOP Hispanics than Dem Hispanics.
PCC| 2.7.13 @ 1:28AM
Here's another out-of-the-box idea: How about stop talking about "the entrepreneurs and job creators", whose votes the GOP probably already has and whose employees usually refer to as "The Boss" (or worse), and focus the message on the 10 guys stacking the shelves instead, where there are 10 times more potential votes, by the way.