But seriously folks, while the Republican Party has seen better days in the region and most Young Republicans gather in a basement somewhere like an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting, it would appear the Northeast might be fertile ground for at least the beginnings of a comeback. Stu Rothenberg, author of the “Rothenberg Political Report” and a cat you seems to have an idea what he’s talking aboot, see’s a few ways we can pick up some seats, and areas we can pick them up in.

The whole article is well worth a read, but I’ll just reference the part aboot New York since, well, that’s where I’m from…

In New York, Republican Jim Tedisco is favored to win appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D) open Congressional seat, adding to the GOP ranks in the state. Businessman Richard Hanna (R) came within an eyelash of upsetting Rep. Michael Arcuri (D) in November, and Republicans are certain to make another run at the two-term Democrat next year.

Assemblyman Greg Ball (R) is entering the race in New York’s 19th district (which stretches from Westchester almost to Poughkeepsie), giving the party a credible nominee against two-term Rep. John Hall (D) in a GOP-leaning district, and if the party can recruit a strong challenger to Rep. Eric Massa in the 29th district, the freshman Democrat could have major problems.

In statewide contests, Gillibrand could face a nasty Senate primary, as could Gov. David Paterson (D), giving Republicans two opportunities. The Democratic nominees would be favored in both races, but a strong GOP bid in either contest would boost party morale, helping further recruitment down the road and down the ballot.

Rothenberg also highlight areas in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, and even New Hampshire. So while it’s tough, it’s not dire.

At least, no more than any other time we’ve been lectured aboot the dire straits the Republican Party was in.

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I still roll to old school Van Halen, Motley Crue, and Kiss. My preference has always been pinball machines to shoot ‘em up games. And while I do enjoy a lot of the Judd Apatow movies, my heart still lies with Mel Brooks and “the Cannonball Run.”

In a word, retro rocks!

Apparently the Republican Party feels the same way, and while all the cool kids are rambling on and on aboot “change,” the GOP is dusting off the old playbook and taking us back to 1994, the year of Pearl Jam, “Pulp Fiction,” and the Republican’s taking back control of the House and the Senate.

So sayeth Politico…

Republicans are hatching a political comeback by dusting off a strategic playbook written nearly two decades ago. Its themes: Unite against Democrats’ economic policy, block and counter health care reform and tar them with spending scandals.

Those represent the political trifecta that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich bet on in 1994 to produce a historic Republican takeover of Congress. Now, some Republicans believe President Barack Obama’s one-two push on the economy and health care reform is setting the stage for a new round of significant gains, if not a total takeover.

I don’t know how I feel aboot this. On one hand, I’ve always been a firm believer that as long as we are on the side of fiscal discipline that’s a good thing. And there’s a lot aboot what I’ve been reading aboot the Democrat plan to Europeanize healthcare that scares me, especially when it comes to limiting experimental treatment, because had it not been for that my mother would be dead right now.

But as much as I enjoyed “Yellow Ledbetter”, this isn’t 1994 anymore. Healthcare costs, for a number of different reasons, have spiraled complete out of control. We need to have something to say other than the word “no.”

Admittedly, trying to wrap my head around what the answer is gives me a migraine. All I know is the guys like Newt Gingrich and David Gratzer have had plenty to say aboot market based healthcare reform that makes a lot of sense, a lot more than when I read Tom Daschle’s “Critical.”

Hopefully the House GOP has been reading up as well.

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And of course, as is the case anytime you get a group of Republicans in the same room together, talk turns to just where the heck our directionless party is going? What’s the future of the GOP? Are a moderately conservative party, or a conservatively moderate party? And so on, and so on.

Really, it’s not much that you haven’t heard before…

But GOP governors differ over whether the party should move to the center or to the right. That split was seen in the debate over the $787 billion stimulus package. GOP centrist governors, including Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Charlie Crist of Florida, joined Democrats in Washington in embracing the package.

Their more conservative counterparts blasted it; Barbour and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (La.) have said they would return some of the federal money because they’re worried that increased temporary spending eventually would lead to tax increases. One possible White House hopeful, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. (R), wouldn’t criticize the stimulus despite his red state bona fides. He said that the federal money would fund infrastructure projects that could help the Beehive State’s economy. “You have to have a party that is results oriented, that actually develops solutions to some of our nagging problems of today,” he said.

But Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), a stimulus critic, said that conservatives will win by sticking by their values, even in blue states. “The Republican party should be and will remain a conservative party,” said Pawlenty, who was vetted for the GOP’s vice presidential nomination last year. Republicans should widen their appeal to swing voters by calling for conservative reforms on big issues, such as health care and energy, Pawlenty said.

I’m going to suggest a radical idea. Conservatives are supposed to be the party of states rights, and next year the STATES are going to be electing their STATE senators, STATE congressman, and even a handful of STATE governors. I say the Republican Party should declare a state of mob rule and see what the states can come up with in 2010.

Let the states handle their business. Charlie Crist may have ideas that would work in Florida, but not necessarily in Utah. Bobby Jindal’s ideas for Louisiana might not help the GOP take back the statehouse here in New York. George Pataki might not be a conservatives soggy dream come true, but if he can take out Chuckles Schumer, I say God bless.

Let the states figure out what they think the Republican Party should be, how it best suits their constituents, and how they’re going to grow the party accordingly. Then once we see who is still standing, and the first Republican forms his presidential exploratory committee the day after the mid-term elections, then we can start to talk aboot where we need to be nationally.

So yeah, I declare Shenanigans.

(Cue the trolls commenting on what’s wrong with the GOP in 5…4…3…2…)

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So sayeth my chairman and yours…

“There was underlying concerns we had become too regionalized and the party needed to reach beyond our comfort” zones, he said, citing defeats in such states as Virginia and North Carolina. “We need messengers to really capture that region – young, Hispanic, black, a cross section … We want to convey that the modern-day GOP looks like the conservative party that stands on principles. But we want to apply them to urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”

But, he elaborated with a laugh, “we need to uptick our image with everyone, including one-armed midgets.”

“Where we have fallen down in delivering a message is in having something to say, particularly to young people and moms of all shapes – soccer moms, hockey moms,” he said, though he insisted that party messages won’t be different strokes for different folks. “We don’t offer one image for 18-year-olds and another for soccer moms but one that shows who we are for the 21st century.”

Set aside the condescending commentary that’s sure to come from the Republican’s promising a “hip-hop makeover” (including a little but from the article I’m citing), it’s always killed me that the party hasn’t been reaching out to “voters of color” before. The fact that our top four presidential candidates didn’t show up to a PBS sponsored primary debate in front of and African-American audience was embarrassing and best, insulting at worst.

Black and Hispanic voters tend to be more socially conservative then not, which would seem like a perfect fit. On top of that, regardless of what liberals want you to believe, not all of them are dependent on the government to survive. Commentator John Ridley refers to it as the “liberal plantation,” where the left condescending acts as if people of color can’t survive without their help.

The rub is that someone who looks like me sounds like a complete idiot trying to make that case to people who look more like Michael Steele or Bobby Jindal. So it’s not enough to reach out to these voters, we need to recruit candidates from these communities to run at all levels of government.

My hope is that, with Michael Steele at the helm, we might finally be starting to do that.

UPDATE: And lets start going after jive like this…

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One of the many, many, many reasons Republicans have been on the wrong side of an ass whoopin’ for the past few years is because the cats in charge (up until now) never really “got” technology.

If you need proof, consider that the Obama campaign had seventy paid staffers focused on using the Internet to get his message out there…versus the FOUR the McCain campaign had.  There’s even a guy in the NY GOP who up until recently didn’t think people used e-mail.

The market conservatives have built for themselves on talk radio, liberals have built for themselves on the Internet.  So yeah, the GOP as a whole gets a capital F-A-I-L! That’s why it’s brand spankin’ new RNC Chair Michael Steele’s first order of business to fix, and recently held a tech summit to start doing so…

Just imagine what a Republican Tech Summit would have looked like circa 2003. Invitations printed on stationery, sealed with wax, and sent to select party members. Highly paid experts invited to talk about Web 2.0. Catered, obviously. And planned so far in advance that by the time it rolls around, the technology in question is obsolete.

The scene on Friday couldn’t have been more different. To call it hastily arranged would be an understatement. The RNC only announced it on Monday, giving participants two days to RSVP and four to prepare presentations. At the same time, organizers made the uncharacteristic decision to open it to the public: Anyone could show up and speak. And while some party leaders might be embarrassed by how badly Republicans lag in the Web race, Steele is broadcasting it to the world. “It’s more transparent than the stimulus package,” says Cyrus Krohn, the RNC’s eCampaign director (and a former Slate publisher).

“There are two things that will get you kicked off the team,” Steele says. (No idle threat-fired RNC staffers spent the day clearing out their offices.) “One is to say, We’ve always done it this way.” The other is to reject an idea because it’s never been done before. In either case, he says, “I don’t want to have anything to do with you.”

It kills me because I used to work in the Internet just before the bubble burst (my company’s stock went from $18.00 to $0.18 in nine months) and if we had tools like YouTube and Twitter WHICH ARE FREE back when we had the resources to fully exploit them…it’s hard to imagine where we would even start. YouTube is FREE. WordPress is FREE. Twitter, Facebook, Digg…FREE, FREE, FREE. Granted if you don’t like writing then a blog might not be for you, but there’s really no reason for any public official – including dog catcher – to not at least have a Facebook and Twitter account, especially when they can have a staffer or an Intern run it for them and no one would know the difference.

The fact that you’re reading this is because of my free account on WordPress, and the reason you’re here because of me using my free accounts on both Facebook and Twitter to pubicilize it and network with other eCon’s (short for eConservative’s – I’m trying it out). And I’m just some schmuck livin’ in the basement that does most of his blogging without any trousers on. I’m just one guy.

Imagine what we can do as part of a coordinated effort back with the resources of the RNC.

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The only opinions that matter are those of the 168 members of the Republican National Committee (as that one douchebag from North Dakota likes to remind us). Not to worry though, because Michael “Man of” Steele is people who knows people, and has them working behind the scenes to “whip up” votes.

As per CNN…

Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele [announced] that a dozen Republican National Committee members are whipping votes on his behalf to be the next leader of the national party…Wisconsin Republican Party Chair Reince Priebus will unveil Steele’s whip operation in a memo to supporters — though in a copy of the document provided to CNN, he stops short of naming other RNC members who have vowed to vote for the former lieutenant governor when the national party meets at the end of the month.

A Steele political advisor tells CNN that the former lieutenant governor has “31 hard commitments” from RNC members. It is difficult to judge true support for any one of these candidates because it is a secret ballot, but political observers view Steele as a serious contender for the top spot.

So what does this mean for those of us in the cheap seats? Not all that much, other than the fact that outside of a recent debate, Steele has been quiet in his bid for RNC Chair. And while he’s the most popular name out of the six or seven that are running, a few of the other cats appeared to be making the most head way with RNC members.

This announcement lets supporters know he’s still running strong, and God willing, will be the next RNC Chair. Because I don’t know aboot you, if Mike Duncan gets re-elected the RNC won’t be seeing another dime out of me.

UPDATE: As per Geraghty the Indispensable, Michael Steele recently sent out this e-mail to all members of the Republican National Committee:

I recently received an email that attacked Saul Anuzis in a viscous and personal manner. You probably all received it. It was pathetic.

And the email said it was from “the real saul anuzis”. About a month ago, I was on the receiving end of a similar anonymous broadside.

This is an absurd way to run a railroad. This is not a student council election.

I’m all in favor of a spirited race and a vigorous exchange of ideas.

Here’s an idea – if anyone wants to attack one of the candidates, they should be adult enough to put their name behind it.

Just a thought.

Michael Steele

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However since the end of the primaries, and especially since the election, he’s been one of the best analytical voices of what we need to do as a party and how urgent it is that we do it.

He was also right aboot Romney, but I’m trying not to dwell too much in the past.

Anyhow, here’s what he had to say today aboot the opportunity we’ve been presented with the recent announcements that a few Republican senators won’t be running for re-election:

The expected retirement of Ohio Senator George Voinovch combines with the retirements of Missouri’s Kit Bond, Florida’s Mel Martinez and Kansas’ Sam Brownback to offer National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn an opportunity to recharge the NRSC’s volunteer/donor base. The chance to recruit young conservatives for four key seats with rhetorical skills and a deep commitment to Reagan conservatism is a chance to energize the base quickly.

An NRSC fund to defend the seats has to established and segregated from other funds, just as one needs to be established for challengers to Democrats seats. The NRSC is still recovering from its disastrous 2006 cycle when it tried to raise money for the likes of Lincoln Chafee and saw its credibility hit bottom with conservatives. If Senator Cornyn established contribution options for donors so that their money goes to particular efforts and not to defend incumbents’ seats (who ought to be well positioned to raise their own cash), the NRSC will quickly become the key coffer to fill in anticipation of the 2010 vote.

I’d like to add something else as far as young conservatives go. I just got finished reading “Reagan’s Revolution,” which was a look at Reagan’s 1976 campaign. It was a fascinating book, but there was one fact that really jumped out. It was the Young Republican’s who broke with the RNC and endorsed Reagan. We’re the ones who chose Reagan where the (as much as I hate the word) “status quo” went with Gerald Ford…resulting in four years of Jimmy Carter.

And by “status quo” I mean the same ass clowns whose response to the 2008 election was to blame the voters for being too stupid to know any better and/or mocked everything Obama did right that we didn’t do…like how he had a “message” and used “technology” to “market” that message.

The point is, it’s been our job as young Republicans and/or Conservatives to step up and tell our party elders when it’s time to change…even when they had to be dragged kicking and screaming. It’s our time, and it’s time for us to be the one’s to step up.

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So when he comes out and endorses Michael Steele for RNC Chair, maybe that will shut some people up cause the “real” conservatives to give Steele another look…

Dear Friend:

I wanted to take a moment to write to you on behalf of Michael Steele. Michael Steele is a friend of mine, and I think he would be an excellent leader for our party as RNC Chairman. The purpose of my letter is very simple. I want to address the issue of who Michael Steele is and where he stands.

In recent weeks, some have tried to make the argument that Michael Steele is somehow less than pro-life. Michael Steele is a man who has the courage of his convictions and has always been pro-life. As chairman of the MD GOP he was pro-life, as a candidate for Lt. Governor he was pro-life, and as a Senate candidate from Maryland he was pro-life. In fact, Michael Steele has even been the speaker at pro-life events. And, now, as a candidate for Chairman of the RNC, Michael Steele is pro-life. On other issues important to the GOP—and America—from lower taxes to a vibrant entrepreneurial encouragement of the economy to a strong national defense, Michael Steele is solid and as good a spokesman on these issues as I know.

I heartily support him to be Chairman of the RNC.

Sincerely,

William J. Bennett

The video is worth you setting aside 4:18 for. Here are a few snippets:

“They have been beating me upside the head with it and let me give it to you straight on: Wake up people. I mean what are you going to do? Are you going to kick these folks out of the party? I have watched this party self disintegrate for the last four or five years. I’ve watched this party isolate itself from itself.”

“What I’m saying is lets build this relationship amongst ourselves because people are watching and there are a lot of people who would join us and be a party of our efforts who are pro-choice but they love our message on money; they love our value system on family values broadly speaking so then how do we cross appeal, how do we make ourselves relevant to the 21st century electorate which is clearly of a different mindset on a host of issues.”

This feud between the conservatives (Rush, Laura, Hannity) and the moderates (Peggy Noonan and the David’s Frum and Brooks), and the way they act like it’s either the red pill or the blue pill, is what makes me want to throw a blue towel with a red cobra on my head and start my own party. And the criticism of Michael Steele’s conservative bona fides just because he worked with Christie Todd Whitman is straight up RETARDED.

I’m a lot more conservative than many of my fellow New York Republicans, and you know what? I still plan on doing everything I can to make sure Rudy Giuliani is elected governor in two years. I may disagree with him on 10% of the issues…but that leaves 90% I do agree with.   The 90% is what unites us.  The 90% is why we’re R’s instead of D’s.

Do we really want a RNC Chair, or any Republican leader, who’s willing to drive people out of the party over that 10%?

Humor me. If the Republican Party were a business, it would be General Motors, or maybe Ford if one were feeling more charitable. Like Ford, the Republican party is a failing business that could, with good management, a lot of money, and some new products, once again become profitable. There is no one in America who has a better record than Mitt Romney at turning around failing enterprises, there is no Republican who can better deliver a message, and there is no Republican (except Palin perhaps) who can raise as much money.

Goldfarb’s points aside, I’d like to add one more…the RNC could definitely need a little thinking “outside of the box,” or at least outside of the box they keep all their boilerplate responses to every thing the Democrats do. Someone like Mitt Romney, especially with the economy being the way it is and no one knowing just what the Obama Dynasty has in store for us, would definitely make things interesting.

Draft Mitt?

UPDATE: It was announced that Ann Romney has been diagnosed with breast cancer.  As someone whose mother is a breat cancer survivor, I’d like to send my thoughts at prayers to the Romney family.

UPDATE DEUX: In the “what might have been” department, do you think Romney would have ever vetoed an ad like this?

Generally when there’s talk of the future leaders of the party, those are the names that are generally in the mix. I’ve got one more…Greg Ball.

Greg Ball is the 31 year-old Assemblyman for New York’s 99th district. He, like all of us with an “R” after our last name, has written aboot what he thinks the Republican party needs to do to grow, survive, and so on. There were five ideas, but one in particular I found interesting…

We must embrace the rise of a new force: unaffiliated voters. In New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Colorado, unaffiliated voters now outnumber either Democrats or Republicans. Those who refuse to register with any party are now the fastest growing group of voters in many districts. These voters represent a huge opportunity for a new Republican Party willing and able to meet their needs and tap into their frustration.

Colorado I’m not surprised aboot…but the other three states? Massachusetts?!? On the surface a state like MA seems like a pipe dream (and most likely is), but if a majority of voters are registering to vote unaffiliated from either party, we need to learn why. Are they right leaning, but didn’t want to associate with President Bush? Are they lefties who “shun labels?” Figuring out what makes unaffiliated voters unaffiliated, even in states that seem out of reach, and exploiting the reason why, is a good “out of the box” idea that needs some serious consideration.

The plan is after the break…

First, Republicans must become true agents for reform, in both Albany and Washington. Taxpayers in New York have been left with little choice, and have come to view choosing between Republicans and Democrats as having to choose between a heart attack or cancer, with few exceptions.

Second, we must embrace the rise of a new force: unaffiliated voters. In New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Colorado, unaffiliated voters now outnumber either Democrats or Republicans. Those who refuse to register with any party are now the fastest growing group of voters in many districts. These voters represent a huge opportunity for a new Republican Party willing and able to meet their needs and tap into their frustration.

Third, Republicans must represent Main Street not Wall Street, and that means addressing tough issues like Medicare and Social Security, immigration, government spending, corruption, outsourcing and corporate welfare. Candidates are products, and elections are events. Voters must have a reason to show up, and when they do, they have to have a reason to pull the lever for our brand. Understanding those two separate components is key to future victories. We must address voter mistrust and actually reflect their concerns in our policies and initiatives, and give them a real reason to vote Republican.

Fourth, if Newt Gingrich and T. Boone Pickens can both build an army of 1.4 million activists around sustainable energy, and Barack Obama can recruit 3 million voters to receive his text messages, than the Republican Party can similarly mobilize voters around the “kitchen table” issues I just mentioned. This grass-roots organizing is key, but also represents the tip of the iceberg in the new age of political messaging.

Fifth, the Republican Party must get back to basics and realize our grassroots activists are the source of our greatest strength, not a dilemma to be managed. We must build large national and state networks to embrace millions of rank-and-file Republicans, invite them back in, and tap their energy, ideas and creativity. Loyal Republicans must remember that this nation just elected an extremely liberal president, and if his knee jerks to the left, while laying out his definition of “change,” there will be an opportunity in the waiting for our party, nationwide.

As we prepare to elect new leadership to the RNC, I want you to consider these quotes from a current RNC member who isn’t a fan of Michael Steele:

“For this association of members to choose to outsource its leadership would, I believe, be an abdication of our responsibility. In my estimation, 168 committed members of the Republican National Committee are a powerful army of qualified advocates for Republican principles; certainly much more threatening to the Democrats than one celebrity spokesman.”

What Democrats do you know who are running scared from the Republican Party lately?

“Getting the Republican Party back on the right ‘track’ is a job rightfully left to the Republicans who have been elected to run this railroad.”

Yeah, you people have been doing a bang up job lately.  Just ask President McCain and Speaker Ryan.

Le sigh.

Sincerely,
John Brodigan

P.S. Vote for Steele

The criticism of the bona fides is what makes me want to wild out and get violent. Besides calling into question whether a pro-life Catholic that is rated 100 percent pro-life by the National Right to Life Committee is pro-Life enough, there’s also the matter of him at one point being on the board of the moderate Republican Leadership Council. I also hear tales of him attending the same banquet as a Democrat did a few years ago. It’s so hard to verify every rumour that comes up.

Now this is all just silly, or as Mary Katherine Ham (the other future ex-Mrs. Brodigan.com) puts it:

“A black Catholic who grew up in D.C. and lives in Prince George’s County becomes a Republican, overcoming social pressure and withstanding abuse, because he believes in conservative ideas and the way they can serve all communities, not because he wishes to be a squishy moderate beloved of the Beltway press.”

If people don’t like his ideas and want to vote for someone else, I say God bless. It’s your vote. But if this is going to be why we don’t elect him, over petty junk like this…we deserve to keep losing cycle after cycle.

UPDATE: I’m sure he’ll have a lot more to say Dec. 4th on the Ed Morrisey Show.

There’s was one part of the interview that really jumped out of me, when he was talking aboot the media will see him as nothing more than a quota hire for the GOP…

“Mr. Steele said that during the 2006 election, he and two other black Republican candidates for statewide office – former football star Lynn Swann for Pennsylvania governor and former Ohio state Treasurer Ken Blackwell for governor there – were called “lawn jockeys” for the Republican Party.”

Don’t you just love how open minded and tolerant the left is?

UPDATE: For and idea of just how much work we have to do, check out Gallup…

UPDATE DEUX: No Fred.  What a shame…

I’ll take Steele with a Newt seal of approval. Steele fills my first two requirements for RNC Chair, and with Newt behind the scene as the idea man, they’ll be a strong duo. And as much as I hate “identity politics,” having Steele, Sarah Palin, and Bobby Jindal as three of our top voices in the party isn’t a bad thing.

Add to that Tom Coburn and Jim DeMint in the Senate. Add to that Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor, Mike Pence, and Pete Sessions in the House. Add to that everyone Republican Governor eyeing 2012. Anyone who wants to tell me the Republican Party is in shambles can suck it.

The only question now is direction. David Brooks fired the latest salvo of the moderate vs. traditionalist war. I’m more with Stephen Hayes in that I find myself somewhere in the middle. It annoys me the way people think it has to be either the red pill or the blue pill. Personally speaking, give me some of that old time conservatism with a side order of the realization it isn’t 1987 anymore.

I think the key is more of a focus on conservative solutions to kitchen table issues like the economy, education, healthcare, and energy. As for the more divisive social issues, we need to find a way to make them less divisive. There has to be a way to take a stand against illegal immigration without the vitriol and animosity towards illegal immigrants. Let’s stop looking at global warming as nothing more than a liberal media conspiracy, while not rushing into bad policy and staying to the right of the nuts who consider it to be “treason” to ask questions.  We need to be able to articulate the sanctity of life in a way other than “Jesus said so.”

More importantly, let’s stop treating each other like heretics because we might disagree with Rush Limbaugh or the “National Review” on any one single issue. Some of us prefer Joe Scarborough and “The Weekly Standard.” That doesn’t make us less a conservative.

Anyway, wherever we go from here, Michael Steele running the RNC is definitely a step in the right direction.

UPDATE: Fred? Apparently he told the crew at NRO that he wasn’t, but a lot can change in less than a week.

.