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Republicans ponder plan to freshen party's image

by Dave Keating | May 19, 2008 at 03:11 am | 113 views | add comment

It's hard to see how the party that's been in power for the past eight years is going to positon itself as the party of 'change'. This article takes an intersting look at the strategy crossroads the Republican Party finds itself at.

The bad news has come from Illinois, Louisiana and Mississippi: A string of unexpected Republican defeats in congressional elections have prompted GOP leaders to say that the party is facing an outright catastrophe this November.

Increasingly, top Republicans are calling on their party to reinvent itself or risk driving away more voters. The GOP image is so stale, said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, R-Va., in a memo to colleagues last week, that "if we were a dog food, they would take us off the shelf" because nobody is buying it.

But even while facing crisis, the GOP is finding that change will not come easily.

Brainstorming sessionThe difficulty of a swift reinvention was on display last week as the central players in Washington's conservative community gathered for their regular strategy session.
A senior adviser to the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee, John McCain, was on hand along with the Republican Party's national chairman to make the case for McCain's brand of Republicanism.

McCain's approach — tough on taxes but receptive to immigrants and committed to easing global warming — could help paint the GOP in new colors, more attractive to independent voters, Hispanics and women.

Some GOP leaders now say that by embracing McCain and his policy platform, Republicans would instantly "rebrand" and reinvigorate their party.