Call Me GOP

In the last election, Obama was praised for getting the youth vote. Why couldn’t the Republican Party?

The “Young Con Anthem” from two kids out of Dartmouth University has been going around the internet for about a month now, but it’s worth another view.

I was sent an interesting opinion piece in the Washington Examiner yesterday by a Republican friend of mine.  It speaks to this simple truth — “that one of the enduring strengths of the American political system is its FEDERALISM — keeping accountability and power as close to the people as possible whenever possible.”

And the opinion piece goes on to speak of Gov. Mitch Daniels (Indiana) who took office in 2005 and inherited an $800 million deficit and in less than four years has turned that deficit into a $1.3 billion surplus for the state. Daniels did a number of smart things — even sold a 75-year lease to their TOLL ROAD to a European company that has generated $3.85 billion in revenue for the state. At the time, he was strongly criticized that the move was too risky. But no one is criticizing him now — especially when you see what’s going on in a state like California, which doesn’t appear to have a clue as to what they should do.

Federalism, at its core, looks “closer to home” for answers to our problems. Would we be better off if our federal government adopted programs, ideas and policies (like what’s going on in Indiana) that have worked on a regional (state) basis and roll them out nationally? Should Federalism be a cornerstone of the G.O.P.’s story to win back votes?

I had a conversation yesterday with a friend who just happens to be a Democrat (he can’t help it) and he was having some fun at my expense over Sanford and his transgressions (not much you can say when one of “ours” goes Bill Clinton)…

He questioned; “What are you and the Republicans going to do now?”  I simply replied;  “TIME…”

Folks, time is on our side.  In just the past few weeks our liberal friends in the Democratic Party (and national media) have opened up a few opportunities that will make a new STORY welcome to many Americans; Pelosi (need I say more!), Obama’s first real press conference — when he actually was questioned FOR THE FIRST TIME about his decisions (he didn’t look too comfortable without his teleprompter) and the “health care for everyone” campaign promise – that now has become “health care for just a few more” with a TRILLION dollar price tag and many more questions than answers.  Just watch what the next few weeks and months bring!

The natives are getting restless with a government trend (that did start with our man Bush) that believes “there’s nothing your government can’t do – for a few more hundred billion” — that Obama and crew are taking to a new level.

It seems to me these are opportunities we can build a story around. What are some specific Republican strengths we can draw on and rally around, in response to the Democrats’ public display of weakness?

Thought leadership seems to be one problem plaguing the Republican Party: It’s not clear who, if anyone, speaks for the G.O.P. Maybe that’s a good place to start. Who should the Voice of the G.O.P. be…whose ideas are the best ones to take the party into the future? Mark Levin? Michael Steele? Karl Rove? What about Stephen Colbert?  (I know he’s not actually conservative, but a recent study indicates that Republicans take his political statements seriously.)

It’s up to you to decide. We’ve pitted 16 of the leading voices against each other, NCAA tournament style, grouped in four brackets representing Ronald Regan, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. (In case you don’t know what some of these guys stand for, check out their bios at the bottom of each matchup.) The eight first-round winners will duke it out to create a Final Four, and so on, until you name a winner…the Voice of the G.O.P. So keep voting and watching the progress.

IMPORTANT: don’t forget to comment! Why you vote is what matters most, because this is where we’re going to start drawing some insights about what the party stands for, and that’s how we’ll get this G.O.P. rebranding show on the road.

VOTE NOW!

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Follow us on Twitter! I’m at @Andrea_CMGOP and Jim’s at @Jim_CallMeGOP. We’re using hashtag #CallMeGOP if you want to join the conversation.

Is there an upside to Michael Jackson’s passing? There is for Republican South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, who’s no doubt happy to be bumped off the front pages. The Daily Beast reports that the governor and his family are spending some time at their beach house, and that he and his wife are planning to work on their marriage, and we sincerely wish them luck with that. But it’s a familiar strain of bad news for the G.O.P. — just last week another Republican, senator John Ensign of Nevada, admitted to marital infidelity. What do YOU think: Should the G.O.P. respond with some kind of public statement, or just sit back and hope the public forgives and forgets?

Hi, I’m Andrea. I work at an ad agency called Story Worldwide. As its name suggests, we help our clients discover and share their stories. And right now, a brand that seriously needs work is the Republican Party. So a bunch of us decided to take the tools and techniques that define our work and apply them to the G.O.P. And we decided to open it up to the world, to see what you guys could do to help this troubled brand recover. As Story’s Social Media Editor, I get to manage this project. I’m actually a registered Democrat, but this still sounds pretty cool.

Let me tell you a little about our process at Story. We start by gathering insights—what a brand means and should mean to people. These run across three pillars: the brand itself, the category of competitors, and you, the consumer. Progressing these insights through a clever (we think) process, we ultimately arrive at a statement that encompasses a brand’s core qualities: the things that make it unique. We call this the “Story Platform.”

Over the next few weeks this is exactly what we’re going to put the G.O.P. through. And we need your help! Let’s have an open, helpful and constructive discussion about the problems with the Republican Party, and where they should go from here. Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat. But don’t bodyslam the poor G.O.P….we’re doing this in the spirit of helping. We’ll turn these insights into a new story and reveal it all right here. Together, we can heal the elephant, if only to keep that donkey honest.

I’m Jim. I also work at Story Worldwide. What Andrea didn’t say is we’re quite famous for telling the stories for many of the world’s leading brands. To be completely transparent, I didn’t vote for Obama — and I’m not a “card carrying Republican” never have felt the need to join a party. My conservative view of what I’m looking for from government, leads me to cheering for the G.O.P. team most every time. I do work with a number of “smart people” who often disagree with my view (they did vote for Obama) and that’s okay. However, we do share this — it’s never a good thing for America when one political voice drowns out the other. Unfortunately, that’s now the case in our country. The Democrats have found their story over the past eighteen months and the G.O.P. has not. Thus, the purpose of Call Me, G.O.P. is to assist the Republicans do just that — HELP THEM FIND THEIR STORY. It’s what we do and we do it well. I ask all who agree with my conservative view of politics – and even those who don’t, to get involved in the discussion that will take place over the next few weeks. We’ll try to make it fun and worth your time.

We’re going to kick things off tomorrow with a “tournament” called — THE VOICE OF THE GOP — where we’re asking your assistance in picking what Republican best represents the GOP going forward.  We’ve seeded 16 Republicans and have placed them in a tournament bracket similar to the NCAA’s March Madness.  In Round 1 we have match-ups pitting Rush Limbaugh vs. Rudy Giuliani, Sean Hannity vs. Michael Steele, and…well, you have to come back tomorrow to see the whole lineup. It’ll be fun, and lively, we promise. So get out and Vote for the Republican who has the best ideas for the G.O.P.!

The helpful guys in our art department put together a bumper sticker to kick off this project:

Ha, ha, ha. Fun…strong…but maybe not exactly the direction the G.O.P. should go in. That’s for us to figure out, starting right now. What do YOU think the Republican Party really stands for? What SHOULD it stand for? Comments below…let’s get this Party started!