As Sarah Palin addresses her fellow Republican governors at their annual meeting in Miami today, there will be plenty of media speculation about whether she or another party luminary will challenge Barack Obama in four years.
But for most Republican leaders, the issue is even more basic — how to make the party relevant again.
In defeat, Republicans are re-examining their party brand, with moderates, conservatives and those pushing for a total reinvention all making their case for how to get the Grand Old Party back on its feet.
For many, the first step toward the future is identifying the mistakes of the past.
“As a party, we fell prey to not listening carefully and not proceeding with humility on occasion and not speaking plainly,” said former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot, who served as the Republican National Committee chairman in 2002 and 2003. “For us to reconstruct ourselves as a credible entity, we need to have principles that are clear, we need to listen carefully and we need to be patient. We need to be relevant in the lives of Americans.”
Republicans began regrouping almost immediately after the Nov. 4 election cost them the presidency, a half dozen seats in the Senate and at least 22 seats in the House. The devastating losses effectively cleared the slate of current party leaders, who will likely be cast aside for a new generation of stalwarts.
As the party looks for new leadership, it will also be debating its message.
Social conservatives will want to see their agenda pushed to the forefront, perhaps through leaders like former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, whose appeal was based on his pro-life stance and pro-family persona.
While issues like abortion and the use of embryos for stem cell research motivate conservative activists, Republicans have struggled to turn that into electoral success. Others in the party will want to avoid wedge issues in favor of presenting a more pragmatic, liberal form of Republicanism. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has spoken of Sam’s Club Republicanism that focuses on providing taxpayers a good value in addressing issues like the environment and health care. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigned for the Republican nomination as a can-do chief executive officer who brought a government health plan to his state. And former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has outlined several books’ worth of ambitious plans for a new Republicanism that uses high-tech solutions to problems like health care access and national security.
Another faction seems to favor getting back to the party’s roots of limited government, fewer taxes and a strong national defense. Former senator and actor Fred Thompson, now interested in the party chairmanship, has emerged as one who wants to return the GOP to the model of the Reagan era. Also in that camp is former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, also seeking the party’s chairmanship.
“The great thing for conservatives is that it is now all about ideology,” said Brian Darling, director of U.S. Senate relations for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. “This is a great opportunity for the ideas to prevail and for the individual who has the best ideas, who is the most Reaganlike with an optimistic view of the conservative movement moving forward, to capture the hearts and minds of the American people moving forward.”
A group of popular governors among those gathered in Miami this week top the list of potential leaders to deliver a new message. Republicans are talking about Bobby Jindal, who has demonstrated effective leadership as a young and dynamic first-term governor of Louisiana. Many in the party are also pinning their hopes on Palin, who helped energize the party as John McCain’s running mate.
“Jindal has all the attributes,” said Robert Kaufman, professor at the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy. “He’s intelligent, he’s not from a conventional Republican background, he is articulate and he can speak to the issue of what it means to be an American.”
Kaufman said elevating Gingrich again would be a mistake because of his history as a divisive leader. “Newt would be Barack Obama’s dream as a foil,” Kaufman said.
While Republicans in the House and Senate are nearly marginalized by their small numbers, GOP leaders like incoming Minority Whip Eric Cantor, of Virginia, and Senate Republican Steering Committee Chairman Jim DeMint, of South Carolina.
“DeMint has emerged from being a backbencher to someone who is influential in the Senate,” Darling said. “He has his own conservative agenda to move forward on. Members like that are the ones we need as a movement to look toward and promote.”
