Our political Quote of the Day comes from centrist writer and former adviser to then-President Bill Clinton and then-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani John Avlon, on how the GOP can get out of the political wilderness:
Obama ultimately won 60 percent of moderate voters, and independents favored him by 8 percentage points. Twenty percent of self-described conservative voters (presumably mostly Democrats) even pulled the lever for him. He became the first Democrat since 1964 to win Virginia and Indiana and swept swing states like Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. He won with a margin larger than George W. Bush ever achieved by reaching out beyond the Democratic base.
The problem for Republicans is compounded by the fact that their base — older white rural traditionalists —i s shrinking, almost by definition. Whole regions have been lost to the party over the past decade, like historically Republican New England, where not a single Republican representative remains. But still some social conservative activists like Tony Perkins believe that the problem can be solved by moving further to the right in the future — just as liberal activists in the 1980s believed that the reason Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis lost was that they were not liberal enough. But even the editor of the National Review, Rich Lowry, recognizes that Republicans need to reach the center as well as the right to win in our center-right nation.
So what do they need to do?
Republicans will emerge from the wilderness only when they reconnect with independent and centrist voters who are fiscally conservative but socially progressive and strong on national security. That means modernizing by embracing a big- tent philosophy on social issues that can credibly attract libertarians again. It means regaining credibility on fiscal issues with clear contrasts like a balanced budget and flat tax. It means becoming more diverse and more urban. It means looking to next -generation leaders like Michael Steele, Bobby Jindal, Mark Kirk and Paul Ryan.
Great parties grow — they reach out and win over new voters. Republicans will remain in the wilderness if they stubbornly deny their problems by preaching to the choir or becoming preoccupied with hunting down party heretics. They must remember that the essence of evangelism is winning converts.
Indeed: the GOP has many voices, but in 2008 it seemed like the GOP old guard joined by moderates and some libertarians on one side were lined up against the social conservatives and talk show hosts and their audiences. John McCain’s losing campaign at times seemed like one of the first in modern memory that was seemingly taking advice from blustery talk show hosts who get their ratings by carving out audience share by offering divisive rhetorical “red meat” and who thrive on verbal confrontation.
The GOP needs to put aside the “red meat” and opt for a healthier course — one that will be appealing to more people, particularly non-Baby Boomer, younger people, so they’ll also come to the table. And bigwigs running campaigns should not be unduly influenced by those who have the loudest voices – amplified by mega-watt microphones.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.