The Republican Party isn't a Party
I just returned from my very first meeting of my local Republican Women's club. I was both elated and disappointed.
Let's talk about the bad stuff:
1. It's old. Of the 80 people there, 15 were under 60 and no one was under 30.
2. It's expensive. The fancy hotel that the club holds there meetings in charge $18 for lunch. They do have a "reserved" table in the back for those of us electing to not eat lunch. Of course, that ensured that not one member spoke to me.
3. It's full of moderates. They spent a great deal of time encouraging us to support the new Texas speaker of the house because "he's a nice guy from a good family." I am not kidding you. One member even stood up and said that he had been to dinner at Straus' daddy's house and could vouch for what a decent human being he was. Is this our vetting process? This is how the Republican party now chooses their candidates? By how nice the dinner was at his momma's house?
4. It was full of white people. There was maybe 10 people that didn't fit the W.A.S.P. criteria that most people associate with our party.
Now the good stuff:
1. Sitting at the back table, I met two other young(er) members and we got to talking about the state of the party and our local representatives. We came to a consensus that the future of the Republican party will be determined not by how far to the center we can move, but by how effectively we can communicate true conservatism. Moving to the center (which is actually moving to the left when you think about it), especially just for election purposes, belies who we are and betrays the people who elected us.
2. I got a chance to talk to a local talk radio host. I found him delightful! He was well educated on Texas history, he's conservative, and he's an African-American!
Conclusion:
1. The Republican Party must stop feeding the image that it is the party of the wealthy and snotty. Let me assure you that no one in jeans or sneakers would have been welcomed in that room;
2. The Republican Party must start reaching out to minority groups NOT by moving to the left (centrist), but by being true to our conservatism and showing them that they are conservatives, too. In their hearts, Hispanic and African-Americans are conservative. The things that are important to them--life, family, jobs--are actually conservative issues that we have allowed to be kidnapped by the Democratic party because of our ineffectiveness in delivery the message.
3. The Republican Party must embrace technology. There are so many available tools to communicate with each other and we are still focused on phone banks and mailers. We can do this better and faster electronically. Open a twitter account and join the conversation.
Again, I'm just a chick with a keyboard and an opinion. If you have a better idea, I welcome your responses.
UPDATE:
Apparently I am not the only one experiencing this. Beth Donovan blogs her experience here:
http://www.thedonovan.com/the_farm/2009/01/conservatism-going-forward-tco.html
