Mitch McConnell: The Path Forward [For The Republican Party].

The Path Forward
By Mitch McConnell

Republican National Committee Winter Meeting, January 29, 2009

"Thanks, Gail. And thank you Mike, for your leadership over the past two years.

"I wouldn't even think of turning down an invitation from Mike. It's the only chance I get all year to refer to a Republican in Washington as 'Mr. Chairman'.

"Kentucky seems to be pretty well represented here today, so I hope you don't mind if I begin with a little Kentucky trivia. A couple weeks ago, I surpassed a good man and a Democrat named Wendell Ford to become the longest-serving U.S. senator in Kentucky history. I remember what I was thinking on my first day in the Senate: I looked out at all the desks in front of me, and I thought none of these guys was ever going to lose, retire, or die. Of course, I was wrong. And all these years later, I'm honored to lead a very different group of Republicans in a very different time.

"This afternoon I'd like to share some of my thoughts about the state of our party and its future.

"The year Kentuckians first sent me to Washington, the Republican governor of New Jersey was reelected with 70% of the vote. Republicans had just taken over both legislative chambers in Connecticut, and the Republican candidate for president won 49 of 50 states. That same year you could walk from Maine to California and from Oregon to Florida, without leaving a state that had a Republican in the Senate. You would have found Republican governors on the East Coast, the West Coast, the Great Plains, and above and below the Mason Dixon Line. We were everywhere.

"A lot has changed since then. We had success in the 1990s, when voters soured on Bill Clinton and his vision of big government. And we had success after the 9/11 attacks, because we shared the belief of most Americans that war had been declared upon America and its allies -- and that it was long past time to confront Islamist terrorism.

"Yet today, when we look out at the political landscape, we see an array of worrisome signs:

"Every House member from New England is a Democrat. You can walk from Canada to Mexico and from Maine to Arizona without ever leaving a state with a Democratic governor. Not a single Republican senator represents the tens of millions of Americans on the West Coast. And on the East Coast, you can drive from North Carolina to New Hampshire without touching a single state in between that has a Republican in the U.S. Senate.

"Some of this is the result of changes in voter attitudes and demographics. We all hear a lot about how these things have affected our party in particular. We're all concerned about the fact that the very wealthy and the very poor, the most and least educated, and a majority of minority voters, seem to have more or less stopped paying attention to us. And we should be concerned that, as a result of all this, the Republican Party seems to be slipping into a position of being more of a regional party than a national one.

"In politics, there's a name for a regional party: it's called a minority party. And I didn't sign up to be a member of a regional party. I know no one in this room did either. As Republicans, we know that commonsense conservative principles aren't regional. But I think we have to admit that our sales job has been. And in my view, that needs to change.

"So we need to recognize where we are. Over the past two elections, we've lost 13 Senate seats and 51 House seats. Our most reliable voters are in decline as a percentage of the overall vote. And Democratic voter registration is on the rise.

"Now, we can argue about how much of this is attributable to our last president. On issue after issue, President Bush showed himself to be a man of principle. And I agreed with him most of the time. But we can all agree, sad as it is, that he wasn't winning any popularity contests. And history shows that unpopular presidents are usually a drag on everybody else who wears their political label. It happened with Truman. It happened with Johnson. It happened with Nixon. It happened with Clinton in '94. And it happened in '06 and '08 with President Bush.

"Still, the results of the two recent elections are real, and so are the obstacles we face as a party. And my concern is that unless we do something to adapt, our status as a minority party may become too pronounced for an easy recovery. The situation is challenging, but it's far from irreversible. We have a proud tradition of adapting to new circumstances. And if we're serious about a comeback -- and we must be -- then we'll all do what's necessary to get there.

"The first task, in my view, is to find the voters who've left the party. As we do this, the temptation for some will be to run from our principles or to dilute our message. I think that's a temptation we need to resist. These people were Republican for a reason. You don't get them back by pretending to be something else. And you certainly don't gain voters by running away from the ones that are most loyal. But it's clear our message isn't getting out to nearly as many people as it should. We need to give voters who've turned away a reason to take another look. And that takes a lot of work.

"We also need to expand the spectrum of people who vote Republican. We've made the case to African American voters that our policies are best suited to the dreams and aspirations of this community. Sadly, the party that was created on the principle that African Americans are equal members of society attracted just 4% of their vote this past fall. This doesn't mean we should abandon the effort. It means we should try twice as hard.

"We've tried reaching Hispanic voters. In 11 years, Hispanics will constitute one fifth of all voters. The future of campaigns and elections depends, for both parties, on the ability to attract voters from the Hispanic community. This is particularly true for us, since Hispanic growth is even more dramatic in regions where we do best. To borrow a corporate analogy, Hispanics are our customers, and turning them away would be like a businessman turning away his own customers. Hispanics are the fastest growing community in the country. About the same number of U.S. households tuned into Univision's Election Eve coverage as watch the "Today Show" in an average week. And Univision is the top ranked network on Friday nights for young viewers across the U.S.

"All of this should be good news for Republicans: in a center-right nation, polling suggests that Hispanic voters are even more conservative on a number of issues than the average American. About half say that tax cuts are the best route to economic growth. Nearly 80% oppose abortion. As Reagan put it, 'Hispanic voters are Republicans. They just don't know it yet.' Yet this past election saw the worst showing for our party among minorities in 150 years -- and not because Senator McCain didn't try. He did, mightily. We've worked hard to attract everyone who dreams of a better life -- in cities and suburbs and everywhere in between. We need to work even harder.

"One way to appeal to more voters is to realize that we can't promote what we don't know. So I think we need to have a better grasp of our history -- and a willingness to share it. The reason for the establishment of the Republican Party is not in dispute: A brave group of antislavery activists pledged that if Congress ever allowed slavery in the new territories of Kansas and Nebraska, they'd form a new party. When the Kansas-Nebraska Act became law, that's what they did. So the first thing to know about our party is that it was born of a commitment to equality and opportunity.

"In its early years, the Republican Party was responsible for The Homestead Act, which paved the way for the cultivation of the Midwest. Republicans were responsible for the Transcontinental Railroad, which bridged the Atlantic and Pacific, and set the foundation for the development of the western United States. We saw the need for an educated citizenry. We acted on it legislatively. And today, about one fifth of all college students in the U.S. are enrolled in schools that were created through the Land Grant Act of 1862.

"Later on, Republicans came to be known for fiscal restraint and low taxes, conservation, defending the working man, and laws that protected Americans from unsafe food and drugs. Republican influence waned in the 1930s and 1940s. But Republican accomplishments during the FDR years say a lot about our party. And the GI Bill is a good example. Here was a piece of legislation that didn't open the doors of opportunity to the well-born, but to the children of line-workers, mechanics, truck drivers and cabbies, from Biloxi to Brooklyn. It covered everyone who served -- including women and African Americans. And it was written by a Republican.

"Every one of these things came about because the Republican Party recognized new needs or new opportunities -- and responded to those needs with courage and vision and optimism. From Lincoln's day to our own day, as America has changed, Republicans have adapted with it.

"That's our past. Now what about our present? Today, as in the past, Republicans have the right solutions for the problems Americans expect government to address. Yet too often we've failed to express our ideas on issues that matter to people most. So we need to explain our ideas -- and the practical benefits they promise for people of every class or race in every corner of the country.

"Too often we've let others define us. And the image they've painted isn't very pretty. Ask most people what Republicans think about immigrants, and they'll say we fear them. Ask most people what we think about the environment, and they'll say we don't care about it. Ask most people what we think about the family, and they'll tell you we don't -- until about a month before Election Day.

"Republicans need to explain that when it comes to government spending, it should be limited. And the taxpayer's burden is our first concern, and that we support programs that create the conditions for individuals and families to flourish. On education, we need to explain that inner-city parents have the same rights to a good education for their kids that suburban parents do -- and show them that Republicans will fight this battle until it's won.

"Workers need to know that we're not anti-union -- we're pro employee. That means that when it comes to union elections, Republicans will protect a worker's right to a secret ballot. On healthcare, we need to explain to people that the best health care in the world is worthless if people can't afford it -- and that Republican policies will drive down costs.

"On energy independence, Republicans need to explain that our approach is the balanced one. If our twin goals are to keep prices low and reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil, then we need to produce more, conserve more, and invest in the alternative and renewable fuels of the future. The Republican concept of finding more and using less is simple and sensible. People need to know about it. And on the environment, Republicans need to explain that the most effective way to protect the environment is to match our desire to protect it with our desire for prosperity.

"There isn't a single person in this room who doesn't support clean energy and clean air. There isn't a single person in this room who doesn't want more affordable health care. There isn't a single person in this room who doesn't want all of America's children to have the best education possible.

"We need to ask ourselves why most people don't think that we believe these things.

"There is no doubt that some in the media help the other side. President Obama got more credit for saying he wants to close Guantanamo than President Bush did for capturing the guys who live there. But blaming the media isn't a strategy for success. It's like blaming the ref for losing. The only sure way to win is to explain our ideas to those who stand to benefit from them. In the end, these are the people who decide elections. Americans are increasingly mobile. The family dollar doesn't stretch as far as it used to. College tuition has become impossible for many to pay. To all these 21st Century realities, Democrats offer 20th Century solutions. And we need to highlight it.

"In Congress, we'll be responsible enough to admit when the other side is right. But we'll also point out where Democrat ideas fall short. We'll point it out when Democrats attempt to undermine or reverse successful terror-fighting policies that have kept us safe since 9/11.We'll point it out when they try to tax and spend our way to prosperity. We'll point it out every time they do the bidding of the trial lawyers and Big Labor bosses. And we'll point it out every time they claim to solve a problem they've really only put off -- as they did just last week on Guantanamo Bay.

"The same week President Obama announced his plan to close it, we learned that a number of former detainees had resurfaced on the battle field and returned to al Qaeda. Some have admitted to their intention of killing Americans during interrogations. In my view, we should take them at their word -- and keep them where they are so long as they pose a threat to the United States.

"We need to communicate our ideas to everyone who ran away from the Republican Party in November -- and to many others. And we need to show them that our policies are developed with a human being in view, not just an abstract principle. As we do this, we should avoid the false choice of being a party of moderates or conservatives. America is diverse. The two major parties should be too. But this doesn't mean turning our backs on commonsense conservatism, or tailoring our positions to suit particular groups. Our principles are universal. They apply to everyone.

"The Republican Party puts the family first. We believe mothers and fathers make better decisions about their childrens' education than the state. We believe every life has worth and deserves protection. We believe the role of judges is to say what the law is, not what they think it ought to be. We believe workers know how to use their hard-earned money better than the Democrats running Congress. We believe all these things. And we believe most Americans agree with us. Somehow the message has been muddied. Now is the time to clear it up.

"Every so often, there comes a time when a political party has to reexamine itself. For Republicans, now is such a time. For some, the work might seem daunting. It shouldn't -- because there are signs that a revival is already taking place. Thanks to the efforts of Republicans across the country, including many of you, men and women of courage and principle are carrying our message to new audiences -- even to places where that message has long been unspoken or ignored.

"One person who heard that message is known to many of you. Two years ago, he decided to run for state office as an Independent in a strongly-Democratic city in the South. When he lost, a local Republican activist who saw potential in the young man called him up. He told him he thought he was a natural Republican -- and that he should run as one for Congress.

"When the young man's wife heard the idea, she laughed. When campaign forecasters heard about it, they said he'd never win. And when Joseph Cao was sworn into office this month, he became the first Vietnamese-born member of Congress in history and the first Republican member from New Orleans since 1891.

"Someone recently asked Congressman Cao why he became a Republican. His answer was simple: 'Because someone asked me too.'

"So my message is this: Be proud of our heritage. Be confident in our principles and our policies. Be daring in the hunt for good candidates, and tireless in recruiting them in every corner of the country. As someone from a state that used to be solid blue, I assure you: you'd be amazed at how quickly people get used to someone with an "R" after their name once he's held office a little while.

"By reaching out to more people like Joseph Cao, Republicans will not only ensure the survival and future success of our party, we'll ensure the progress and the prosperity of America. The problems we face as a nation are too serious for us to neglect this necessary work. And I have no doubt that Republicans will do nothing less to ensure a stronger, freer America in the years ahead."

Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is the U.S. Senate minority leader.

Editor's comment: These POWERFUL words of Mitch McConnell do NOT need to be diluted by anything I can say here. I just hope the Senator understands that it is NOT the delivery of the Republican message that is at fault with the party.

It is the OBVIOUS disconnect between the Republican Party's message and the acting out or living the message that is the PROBLEM.