Last Saturday, I asked for inputs on a draft letter to Republican leaders. While the feedback was certainly diverse, it generally sorted out into a handful of common themes:
Why bother?
What’s the desired action by the recipients?
It’s too general; get more specific.
Make it apply to both parties, not just Republicans.
What’s the larger plan; the related “organizing activityâ€? (Or, as one reader put it, the implied effort is “a daunting challenge. You won’t do it with well-intended letters. Large numbers of voters and large sums of political contributions are required.â€)
Considering those inputs, I revised the letter to …
Clarify the desired action by the recipients
Recognize the expansive organizing activities (of voters and dollars) that are already underway by the likes of the Republican Leadership Council
Get more specific, but not overly specific; this is (after all) a letter about values not policies. As Bill Clinton once said, and I paraphrase: If we get the values right, the policies will follow. (Yes, I know it’s odd to cite a Democrat in support of an approach to Republicans, but as I’ve written before, I think Clinton was the best Republican President of the last generation.)
That leaves two categories of input I did not address in my rewrite, so I’ll address them here.
Why bother? Dennis Sanders – one of my Central Sanity co-bloggers and a moderate Republican whom I respect immensely – once suggested that moderate Republican office holders have continued to dance around the edges of certain controversial issues because they fear moderate voters are not plentiful enough in numbers, or organized well enough, to counterbalance the social conservatives, the so-called “base.†Accordingly, Dennis recommended that more moderate Republicans like me get out of our cloistered worlds and communicate directly with Republican leaders, to let them know we’re here; we’re organizing; we want them to stop tip-toeing across egg shells and start stomping on them – and (importantly) we’re prepared to back moderate GOP leaders, to keep them in office and thereby begin the party’s transformation.
Why not drop party identification and address the letter to all candidates? I’m a Republican. I think the GOP has lost its way (see Joe G’s post earlier today). And I agree with Dennis: It’s time moderate Party members quit their grumbling and storm the castle. (Conversely, the Democrats are experiencing a resurgence and they don’t necessarily need a wake-up call from their moderates. Plus, obviously, I’m not a D.)
With that, here’s the rewrite, considerably longer than the first version but much improved, I think, as a result of your prior inputs. And of course, I’d appreciate any additional thoughts you might have, before I move on to next steps.