Recently, Reince Priebus, the Chairman of the Republican National Committee(RNC), released a report about what the party did wrong when they lost the presidential election in 2012. It presented many good ideas, but it still did not provide a good Republican vision for the future. Instead of preaching about reducing the deficit through the use of draconian tax cuts, how abortion and gay marriage is wrong and immoral, and how government is evil by nature, the Republicans need to realize that they live in a changing world. Years ago, the children who grew up during the era that Reagan was president, grew up being more conservative. Now, Millennials, the biggest generation in history, is trending towards the left. Not only that, they are also much more secular than any other generation. The Republicans need to not just communicate their message differently, they need to change their message itself. The idea of small, responsible government appeals to many people. The Republicans need to realize that to appeal to younger voters, they have to realize that younger voters believe that government can, and should, be used to solve problems. So, the Republicans need to change their message in a few ways:
1. Abandon their stances on social issues
The majority of Americans already support gay marriage. That includes significant support among younger voters. Republicans need to accept that in order to gain the support of many independents and swing voters, they need to drop their firm stance against gay marriage. Abortion is a touchier and more complex subject. At the same time, saying that all abortions are wrong is just wrong. Treating a fetus as a person from conception makes no sense from the point of science: at conception, a fetus isn't even technically a fetus yet, it is a single cell. If killing that single cell is so wrong then every time you are rubbing your hands together you are committing a crime. Softening up their stances on abortion by making abortion legal in instances of rape, incest, or when the mother's life is at risk, and only with ample abortion counseling will appeal to the more moderate members of society. While it may alienate the Christian Right, if the Republicans want to survive and flourish in the future, they need to cut off a hand to preserve the body.
2. Restructure their economic policies
STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT THE DEBT OR PRODUCE A VIABLE BUDGET WITHOUT DRACONIAN CUTS. The Democrats actually deserve credit here, for producing a budget that us actually pretty moderate. If the Republicans could do the same, they could rid the Democrats of a major advantage: the idea that Republicans are greedy tools of the rich elite. The majority of Americans want to balance the budget through a mix of spending cuts and tax increases, with mostly spending cuts: a huge opportunity for Republicans if they would only moderate their policies and take it. By producing a budget that balances the budget in 7-10 years through a combination of spending cuts and tax increases they would prompt the Democrats could do the same and based upon the views of the majority of Americans, the Republicans would win.
The Republicans are at a very interesting stage: they can either change their policies, moderate, and become a very strong and viable contender in the future, or they can hold on to their policies and fade away, becoming the 21st-century equivalent of the Whig Party. The choice is in the Republicans' hands. All we can do now is watch and hope.
1. Abandon their stances on social issues
The majority of Americans already support gay marriage. That includes significant support among younger voters. Republicans need to accept that in order to gain the support of many independents and swing voters, they need to drop their firm stance against gay marriage. Abortion is a touchier and more complex subject. At the same time, saying that all abortions are wrong is just wrong. Treating a fetus as a person from conception makes no sense from the point of science: at conception, a fetus isn't even technically a fetus yet, it is a single cell. If killing that single cell is so wrong then every time you are rubbing your hands together you are committing a crime. Softening up their stances on abortion by making abortion legal in instances of rape, incest, or when the mother's life is at risk, and only with ample abortion counseling will appeal to the more moderate members of society. While it may alienate the Christian Right, if the Republicans want to survive and flourish in the future, they need to cut off a hand to preserve the body.
2. Restructure their economic policies
STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT THE DEBT OR PRODUCE A VIABLE BUDGET WITHOUT DRACONIAN CUTS. The Democrats actually deserve credit here, for producing a budget that us actually pretty moderate. If the Republicans could do the same, they could rid the Democrats of a major advantage: the idea that Republicans are greedy tools of the rich elite. The majority of Americans want to balance the budget through a mix of spending cuts and tax increases, with mostly spending cuts: a huge opportunity for Republicans if they would only moderate their policies and take it. By producing a budget that balances the budget in 7-10 years through a combination of spending cuts and tax increases they would prompt the Democrats could do the same and based upon the views of the majority of Americans, the Republicans would win.
The Republicans are at a very interesting stage: they can either change their policies, moderate, and become a very strong and viable contender in the future, or they can hold on to their policies and fade away, becoming the 21st-century equivalent of the Whig Party. The choice is in the Republicans' hands. All we can do now is watch and hope.