A NEW REPUBLICAN PARTY
In 1976, President Ford narrowly lost the White House to former-Gov. Jimmy Carter, 48 percent to 50 percent. Carter’s narrow margin was secured by lower-income Americans who gave Carter an overwhelming 62 percent to 38 percent margin (two points worse than Romney’s 2012 showing).
Just two months later, on February 6, 1977, a former-governor of California told a packed hotel ballroom in Washington, D.C., that the Republican Party would have to reinvent itself if it was going to survive.
“The New Republican Party I envision will not be, and cannot be, one limited to the country club-Big Business image that, for reasons both fair and unfair, it is burdened with today,” this former-governor said.
“The New Republican Party I am speaking about is going to have room for the man and the woman in the factories, for the farmer, for the cop on the beat, and the millions of Americans who may never have thought of joining our party before, but whose interests coincide with those represented by principled Republicanism.”
That former-governor was, of course, President Reagan. And in the 1980 election, not only did Reagan beat Carter 51 percent to 41 percent, but he cut Ford’s 24 point loss among the lowest- income Americans to just 10 points.
Republicans can win significant votes from every demographic. There are millions of Americans who share the Republican Party’s limited government vision but just don’t vote for them because Republicans have a reputation for supporting the rich and not caring about the poor.
By pursuing an agenda and crafting a message that demonstrates how a smaller government can help the everyday lives of average Americans, especially those with lower-incomes who suffer from regressive payroll taxes and government subsidized debt, Republicans can win elections in presidential years again.
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/conncarroll/2014/07/01/the-case-for-libertarian-populism-n1852602
In 1976, President Ford narrowly lost the White House to former-Gov. Jimmy Carter, 48 percent to 50 percent. Carter’s narrow margin was secured by lower-income Americans who gave Carter an overwhelming 62 percent to 38 percent margin (two points worse than Romney’s 2012 showing).
Just two months later, on February 6, 1977, a former-governor of California told a packed hotel ballroom in Washington, D.C., that the Republican Party would have to reinvent itself if it was going to survive.
“The New Republican Party I envision will not be, and cannot be, one limited to the country club-Big Business image that, for reasons both fair and unfair, it is burdened with today,” this former-governor said.
“The New Republican Party I am speaking about is going to have room for the man and the woman in the factories, for the farmer, for the cop on the beat, and the millions of Americans who may never have thought of joining our party before, but whose interests coincide with those represented by principled Republicanism.”
That former-governor was, of course, President Reagan. And in the 1980 election, not only did Reagan beat Carter 51 percent to 41 percent, but he cut Ford’s 24 point loss among the lowest- income Americans to just 10 points.
Republicans can win significant votes from every demographic. There are millions of Americans who share the Republican Party’s limited government vision but just don’t vote for them because Republicans have a reputation for supporting the rich and not caring about the poor.
By pursuing an agenda and crafting a message that demonstrates how a smaller government can help the everyday lives of average Americans, especially those with lower-incomes who suffer from regressive payroll taxes and government subsidized debt, Republicans can win elections in presidential years again.
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/conncarroll/2014/07/01/the-case-for-libertarian-populism-n1852602
