Tokenism is Strangling the GOP

Some Republicans do not understand their failure to organize and relate to voters had as much to do with the GOP’s loss as did anything their opponents did to win. It can be hard to digest the fact one’s own shortcomings are to blame while the bitter taste of defeat is still fresh, but Republicans would be wise to choke down a sizeable helping of self-evaluation before leaving this table. If they want things to change, Republicans must fix what is broken within their party.

Governor Terry Branstad isn’t looking inward, he is lashing out. In a Register interview last week, he said this, “If you really analyze this, it’s a tribute to the community organizer and campaigner-in-chief. He had a terrible record, he knew he couldn’t run on it, and they ran a very effective campaign, really. If you look at the nuts and bolts, they didn’t win this on issues. They spent the entire year in advance trying to make Mitt Romney this ogre and somebody that people wouldn’t trust.”

With a straight face, Governor Branstad says President Obama didn’t win on issues and then concludes, “If Romney had won, I think there would have been a mandate for change.”

‘If my guy wins, the electorate supports our agenda – if the other guy wins, the voters got duped’ is not intellectually honest. Believing what they wanted to believe while ignoring all evidence to the contrary led many Republicans to predict a landslide victory. Similar election results will happen again unless Republicans cease the self-comforting spin. It may be hard to swallow, but Republicans lost, in part, because voters did not agree with them.

Governor Mitt Romney proved he is unwilling to accept why he lost. He told large donors participating in a campaign wrap-up call the Obama team bestowed “gifts” on loyal Democrat constituencies to sway the election.

“In each case, they (Democrats) were very generous in what they gave to those groups,” Romney said. He went on to say while President Obama was, in effect buying votes, Mr. Romney was “talking about big issues for the whole country: military strategy, foreign policy, a strong economy, creating jobs and so forth.”

Romney refuses to admit his own message was the heart of the problem. He believes in himself and his message so completely, the only conclusion Romney draws is that voters rejected him because of some sleight of hand by the silver-tongued Obama.

By telling donors others are to blame without accepting any responsibility for his own actions, Governor Romney reminds me of the guy who tells his wife a tree fell on her truck, the truck he parked next to the tree he was about to cut down. The tree fell on the truck, but that does not make the incident the tree’s fault.

There is some hope. A few Republicans including Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal appear to be looking the right direction. In response to Romney’s comments to donors, Jindal said this, “We have got to stop dividing the American voters. We need to go after 100 percent of the votes, not 53 percent. We need to go after every single vote. … So I absolutely reject that notion, that description. I think it’s absolutely wrong. I don’t think that represents where we are as a party, where we’re going as a party. That has got to be one of the most fundamental takeaways from this election.”

Republicans need to develop a plan for leading and attracting new voters. This starts with constructing two essential components of a winning campaign, organization and message. Developing an effective organization and a motivational message requires an understanding of voters: the who, where, why and how elements of the electorate.

The Obama campaign redefined the mechanics of campaigning. Their ability to identify likely voters, to create and disseminate nearly individualized messages based on data collection and to get out the vote by making the most of today’s technology has set a new standard. They thought about how voters communicated, where they got information and what influenced their thinking. But, most important, they inspired voters to act. Inspiration is the magic ingredient of a winning campaign formula.

The Romneys and Branstads of the GOP are missing the point.

Women, Latinos, African Americans and others are not target groups to be purchased with what Romney describes as “gifts.” They are a part of a diverse electorate interested in ideas that will make the country, their communities and their families stronger.

If they wish to again connect with voters, Republicans must break free from those who think tokenism substitutes for inclusion.

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Graham Gillette can be reached at grahamgillette@gmail.com 
This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register online essay.