I never knew Republicans had so many strategists. It’s hard to avoid the free advice crowd today in Washington. Secret meetings, public meetings, secret meetings that become public — if the GOP had a swimming pool, they could fill it with the perspiration from all the hand-wringing and sweaty palms. Today’s Politico is a great place to hear the concerts of complaint. There is “finger pointing. There is “cancer” on the GOP. There is even a political “Dear Abby” advice column for the party. Most of the input comes down to these two points: 1. Republicans need a message, and 2. Americans want solutions, not political rhetoric. Fine. That all makes sense. But here’s the rub. In politics, that’s easier said than done. Consider the “message” problem. Republicans do have a message — they stand for lower taxes, free trade, a strong defense, lower spending (usually), blah, blah, blah. The dilemma is no one’s listening. Republicans tend to define themselves in policy terms few people grasp. They speak a language not many outside the Beltway understand or care about — even if people were listening. Former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman tells people, “We live in a world with a surplus of information and a deficit of attention.” He’s right. Breaking through the clutter of everything from American Idol to bombs in Beirut is a challenge. Next there’s the issue of “solutions.” Even if Republicans had an agenda that Americans loved, Republicans no longer control the levers of power. They can only oppose (which people view as empty political rhetoric) or water down their agenda so much through compromise with the Democrats it’s no longer viewed as “Republican.” Bottom line: these “problems” won’t go away soon. And Republicans probably need some “help” from the Democrats. What do 2006 and 1994 — the last two times party control changed in the House — have in common? They happened under conditions of unified party control — one side in charge of both the Congress and the White House. One way to highlight a Republican message and get people to pay attention is to give Democrats a chance to enact their agenda, and then run against it. That might take some time. In the meantime, hard work and patience are probably the best elixirs.
