Jeff Jacoby's article on the deepening life-support status
of the Massachusetts GOP resonated with me, a conservative in California who
has just witnessed the rise of a Democratic tax-and-spend supermajority in my
statehouse.
Moreover, a lukewarm, flip-flop moderate Presidential
candidate hurt statewide and local races, turning off instead of turning out
the vote for the Republicans. With the eight failed years under Bush coupled
with impolitic comments like “self-deportation” which alienate Hispanics, Romney
sandbagged the GOP.
I believe that Jacoby’s take on the GOP in blue states makes
sense not just for the local party but also for the Republican national conference.
Grassroots contributors, not businessman or political outsiders, will win
elections. It’s not enough to be “against” one party, but Republicans must
propose a simple platform of limited government, lower taxes, and local
control. No more purity tests, a simple platform,
and the GOP can win again.
Like state senators Scott Brown and Richard Tisei, Republican
hopefuls in liberal bastions need to tell people why to vote for them. Tell
voters the advantages of less government and more community. Being gay or
pro-choice is a side issue, and the national conference can outline a robust,
conservative stance without extremism.
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