Cons were their own worst enemy after 2012.
The Republican National Committee's internal post-mortem of the 2012 presidential election was a come-to-Jesus moment: Republicans had lost the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections. Unless the party made some serious changes, courting women and minorities both as voters and as candidates, this trend would continue. The electoral authority of the voters who had bolstered the GOP for decades -- white men -- had been compromised by women and people of color, and the GOP had failed to make inroads with either group. Also, the report noted, there should be fewer debates.
It was a rare moment of unflinching honesty, the kind of self-evaluation that could, and should, lead to serious thought followed by real change.
Immigration reform, done with sensitivity to the concerns of Hispanic and other voters likely to hold affinity for immigrants, should be a top priority, the 2012 report found. "Hispanic voters" -- a growing part of the electorate -- "tell us our Party's position on immigration has become a litmus test, measuring whether we are meeting them with a welcome mat or a closed door," the report's authors wrote.
Here's another finding: "When it comes to social issues" -- this means gay marriage and access to birth control and abortion -- "the Party must in fact and deed be inclusive and welcoming. If we are not, we will limit our ability to attract young people and others, including many women, who agree with us on some but not all issues."
And basically, none of it happened.
...take Trump out of the picture, and it's hard to see any impact driven by the 2012 post-mortem on the other one-time GOP frontrunners.
http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/...7/05/gop-platform-immigration-women/86611752/
The Republican National Committee's internal post-mortem of the 2012 presidential election was a come-to-Jesus moment: Republicans had lost the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections. Unless the party made some serious changes, courting women and minorities both as voters and as candidates, this trend would continue. The electoral authority of the voters who had bolstered the GOP for decades -- white men -- had been compromised by women and people of color, and the GOP had failed to make inroads with either group. Also, the report noted, there should be fewer debates.
It was a rare moment of unflinching honesty, the kind of self-evaluation that could, and should, lead to serious thought followed by real change.
Immigration reform, done with sensitivity to the concerns of Hispanic and other voters likely to hold affinity for immigrants, should be a top priority, the 2012 report found. "Hispanic voters" -- a growing part of the electorate -- "tell us our Party's position on immigration has become a litmus test, measuring whether we are meeting them with a welcome mat or a closed door," the report's authors wrote.
Here's another finding: "When it comes to social issues" -- this means gay marriage and access to birth control and abortion -- "the Party must in fact and deed be inclusive and welcoming. If we are not, we will limit our ability to attract young people and others, including many women, who agree with us on some but not all issues."
And basically, none of it happened.
...take Trump out of the picture, and it's hard to see any impact driven by the 2012 post-mortem on the other one-time GOP frontrunners.
http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/...7/05/gop-platform-immigration-women/86611752/
