Republican party 'autopsy' report
Sparks fly when Margaret Hoover, Gayle Trotter and Charles Blow discuss the GOP's future and how to broaden its appeal after a study commissioned by the Republican National Committee prescribed a major makeover for the party.
The report stated, "Unless changes are made, it will be increasingly difficult for Republicans to win another presidential election in the near future." And a new CNN/ORC poll reveals 38 percent view the GOP in a favorable light while 54 percent of voters surveyed have an unfavorable view of the Republican Party. Reince Priebus, RNC chairman, plans to spend $10 million to reshape their message.
Hoover supports Priebus' initiative and "preaching tolerance" on issues like gay marriage and immigration reform. "There has got to be room for people that have different views on different issues, which means we're getting rid of this necessity to have absolute orthodoxy on every issue," she says.
Over the weekend at CPAC, Sarah Palin went after the establishment, including Karl Rove, exposing a rift in the party over change and strategy. Trotter says there's nothing new about different conservative factions disagreeing, and that the GOP has a bright future ahead.
"It's really a matter of driving home these core principles and going after Obama and the left on these issues that in these demographics that we're losing in, to say that Republicans favor things like school choice," she says.
Calling the report a joke, Blow argues Republicans are trying to change the message and mechanics, but not policies. "The Republican Party has become something of a wildlife game preserve for intolerance, for anti-intellectualism and for kind of obstruction...not all Republicans are that way. That's not the problem. The problem is that the Republican Party has become a home for people who feel like that," he says.
His comments prompted Trotter's response that "Republicans do not need to learn or be lectured by liberals about how to succeed."
For more on the story, read "5 things post-CPAC: New faces, old music and winners/losers"
 |
Post by: Anderson Cooper Filed under: Raw Politics • Republicans |
About this Show:
Anderson Cooper goes beyond the headlines to tell stories from many points of view, so you can make up your own mind about the news. Tune in weeknights at 8 and 10 ET on CNN.
Questions or comments? Send an email
Want to know more? Go behind the scenes with AC361°
Subscribe to the podcast
On Twitter
Search the AC360 blog
If Republicans are ever going to be relevant again, it will need to start with humility. In a Democracy, when we lose, we resolve to support the winner for the sake of the Nation. Time and again, when in the minority, Republicans have shown the willingness to paralyze our entire country over issues that seem so simple. Bill Clinton got a what? The debt ceiling debate cost the country it's AAA credit rating. Shut the government down? No problem, we're just trying to make a point. Dead ambassadors? Gotta be Obama or Clinton's fault somehow. It's almost like they care about nothing but money. Someone needs to tell the House repugnicans that they are not elected to formulate policy. The main job of the House is to fund the government yet they steadfastly refuse to do it. They have to go. The last thing this nation needs is 400 uneducated policymakers. Some of the Tea Party clowns have never held an elective office. I just want to tell them to go away and come back when they are prepared to act as American Statesmen. That is what we need.