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To win again, the Republicans must be a party of hope
By James Baker, former US Secretary of State. Secretary of Treasury, and White House Chief of Staff
The GOP should look at where it went wrong and set out on the path to victory, writes James Baker
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As obituaries are written about thedemise of the Republican party, I am reminded of Mark Twain’s line, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” As a Republican for 43 years, I admit to a certain bias. But I remain positive about my party’s future.
That is not to say that the Grand Old Party did not administer self-inflicted wounds in its recent effort to defund the Affordable Care Act. My party has been hurt by this tilting at political windmills. But while President Barack Obama and the Democrats may have scored a political victory, its impact in the long term is unclear and they were also hurt by the fallout.
There was, however, one big loser: the American people. This misguided episode cost the federal government $24bn, cost the country a potential drop in gross domestic product, and cost the GOP an opportunity to focus on the extraordinary failure associated with the ACA rollout.
Most Americans blame Republicans for the fiasco. And the fight over reopening the government and raising the debt ceiling revealed fissures within the GOP leadership. Understandably, questions have arisen about the party’s future. Will it split between Tea Partiers and its more mainstream factions? Will a third party rise from the aftermath of this schism? Is the Republican brand so tarnished that it cannot take control of the Senate in 2014 or the White House in 2016?
Having participated in presidential politics since 1976, one thing is clear to me. The party out of power is typically seen as impotent, helpless and hopeless. But just as inevitably, that same party always seems to rebound after serious soul searching.
Moreover, there has always been a wide range of interest groups in the party. For decades, we have had substantial fights between rightwing and more establishment Republicans. This infighting was particularly brutal in 1976, 1980 and 1988, and we went on to win two out of three presidential elections.
The party’s diversity, however, is a strength, not a weakness. Today, Tea Partiers bring a passion that can be an important edge in elections. But mainstream Republicans remain indispensable. It may sound trite, but it is true: united we stand, divided we fall. I think most Republicans understand that.
So what does the GOP need to do now? In the short term, remember that tactics and strategy both matter. It was a fool’s errand to tie the defunding of the ACA to a government shutdown and a debt-ceiling debate. Because Democrats control the White House and the Senate, the strategy was never going to work. To paraphrase Clayton Williams, a Republican who lost the 1990 Texas gubernatorial race after a series of gaffes: we shot ourselves in the foot and reloaded.
That does not mean that Republicans should stop criticising the ACA. It remains an example of big government at its worst: cumbersome, complicated and intrusive. The best – in fact, only – way to repeal the ACA is to control the White House, Senate and the House of Representatives. Democrats, after all, enacted the law when they controlled all three. So the focus should be on winning elections to control those levers of power.
Meanwhile, given the animosity between the parties, the timing may be difficult for a grand bargain. But eventually, Washington is going to have to make those hard choices, and the sooner it starts, the quicker the US digs out of its fiscal mess. As future fiscal deadlines approach Republicans should push for reforms like those recently spelt out by Paul Ryan, House budget chairman, which address the entire federal budget. They should not derail that effort by once again embracing a maximalist position on defunding the ACA.
The president says he is open to a budget deal. Republicans should take him at his word and enter into good-faith negotiations. If he does not, then he will be ignoring what most presidents have done in the past – negotiate debt ceiling increases. He is the leader of the country, and so he cannot continue to just sit back and lecture us about the severity of the problems. Americans expect their president to lead. If he does not, he will pay a political price.
In the long term, there are several things Republicans should do. First and foremost, they should again become the party of hope, opportunity and optimism, and not anger and resentment. Americans responded when Ronald Reagan spoke about a shining city on the hill and when George HW Bush invoked “a thousand points of light”. Party faithful and independent voters alike responded to such optimism. They will again.
Republicans must also focus on smart, efficient and effective government. As appealing as “no government” may sound, it lacks practicality. A limited government, one that develops intelligent, cost-effective solutions, is the best approach to meeting our challenges.
Also, the GOP must recognise that the country’s demographics are changing. Ignoring that phenomenon – or worse, fighting it – could be catastrophic. The party should reach out to Hispanics, Asians and other minorities as many of them support the Republican ideals of economic conservatism, personal freedom, hard work, religion and family values.
Republicans also need to go where the voters are. Deal with urban issues rather than ignore them. Support national security but do not be the “party of war”. Promote economic conservatism but do not abandon social conservatives. We need a “big tent” to win elections.
Overnight is an eternity in politics so we have plenty of time to regain our mojo. We have done this before and we have emerged stronger. We will again, provided that we focus smartly on the realities of politics and policy alike, and do not embrace political strategies that are doomed to fail.
The writer led five presidential campaigns from 1976 to 1992
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