The GOP Regroups

Rebranding the GOP. Republican insiders on regrouping for their party’s future.

Republicans did not expect the licking they took in the presidential election last fall.  Mitt Romney seemed barely able to believe it.  Karl Rove argued with the numbers on election night.  But as the weeks have gone by, it’s sunk in.  That was a straight up, indisputable loss.  A rejection by the majority.

Now comes the self-reflection.  Louisiana’s Republican governor Bobby Jindal says Republicans “must stop being the stupid party.”  Republicans are suddenly eager to talk immigration.  It’s regroup time.

This hour, On Point:  We talk with Republicans looking for a new way forward.
-Tom Ashbrook

Henry Barbour, one of five Republicans heading up the Republican National Committee's “Growth and Opportunity Project” – a task force charged with identifying winning political strategies and broadening the GOP’s appeal. (@henrybarbour)

Jennifer Sevilla Korn, executive director of the Hispanic Leadership Network, a conservative Hispanic organization. She served in the George W. Bush administration as the White House’s Director of Hispanic and Women’s Affairs.

Kim Alfano, Republican strategist, president and CEO of Alfano Communications. (@alfanocomm)

The National Journal "Admitting the problem is always the first, and the most difficult, step in any rehabilitation process. Republicans, having suffered consecutive general-election defeats brought on by conditions capable of creating a permanent political minority, are at last stepping to the lectern and clearing their throats."

The New York Times "As Republican leaders gathered here on Thursday to consider how to rebuild their party, President Obama was at the center of the conversation. But the sharp criticism directed at him was replaced by something new: envy over his campaign."

The Daily Beast "It’s a secret hiding in plain sight—most Americans are non-ideological problem-solvers, and they like examples of principled independence from their political leaders. The obsessive play to the base approach of Republican politics in recent years ended up leading to fear-fueled, defensive politics that leads to division instead of addition, when it comes to coalitions."